Barcelona were eliminated from the Copa del Rey semifinal after failing to overcome a four-goal deficit against Atletico Madrid despite their best efforts.
The Blaugrana battled hard in the second leg Wednesday night, but they were only able to secure a 3-0 victory, which was insufficient after losing the first game at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano 4-0.
Deco Recalls Cubarsi’s Disallowed First-Leg Goal.
Barcelona’s sporting director Deco recounted the contentious first-leg incident, in which Pau Cubarsi scored a goal but it was disallowed by VAR due to a questionable offside call, in an interview with the media following the game.
“Overturning the 4-0 from the first leg was not easy, that is why we complained there about Cubarsi’s disallowed goal,” stated Deco, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
Barca also complained about the match officiating to the RFEF and the CTA after the first leg, when technological issues caused the semi-automated offside system to malfunction.
Last night’s 3-0 victory would have put the match into extra time if the goal had stood, making the first leg 4-1. However, it was not to be.
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“With that 4-1, today there would have been extra time, but we must not look for excuses, and the team were magnificent.”
Talking about last night’s match and the performance of the team, the Barça director explained:
“We dominated the entire match. Our commitment is a good sign and makes us happy because we still have a lot to win this season.
“We wanted to win the Copa del Rey, but we played poorly there. Connecting with the fans like this shows that this team is generating excitement.”
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