Barca edge nine-man Atletico in five-goal thriller

30 Jan, 2015

Neymar bagged a double as Barcelona twice came from behind to book their place in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey with a 3-2 win over nine-man Atletico Madrid to seal a 4-2 aggregate victory. Fernando Torres struck for the hosts inside the first minute to cancel out Lionel Messi's winner in last week's first leg, but Neymar grabbed a vital away goal just nine minutes later.
Raul Garcia briefly restored Atletico's lead from the penalty spot, but Barca were in front by half-time thanks to a Miranda own goal and a wonderful counter-attack rounded off by Neymar. Atletico captain Gabi was then sent-off during half-time as players and coaches from both sides clashed at the end of the first period. The home side should have been reduced to nine men earlier when Arda Turan somehow escaped with just a yellow card after throwing his boot at one of the officials in the second-half, but did eventually see another red card when Mario Suarez picked up a second booking late on. "I liked the way the team reacted after conceding in a strange way in the first minute," said Barca boss Luis Enrique. "Neymar showed the attitude he always does. He is a player with a lot of confidence and helps us all in all phases of the game."

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