Barcelona reach Copa final after controversial 1-1 draw with Atletico

Barcelona edged out Atletico Madrid 3-2 on aggregate to reach the final of the Copa del Rey as the second leg semi-final tie ended in a controversial 1-1 draw at Camp Nou.

The first leg at Vicente Calderon had ended 2-1 in favour of Barcelona. Barcelona will now play either Alaves or Celta Vigo in the final on

May 27.

The game was marred by a few controversial decisions that robbed Atletico Madrid the chance of taking the game into extra time. The high on intensity game also saw three red cards while Luiz Suarez and Kevin Gameiro managed to get their names on the scoresheet.

Atetico Madrid pressed high and attacked constantly not letting Barcelona settle into the game. From the word go, Atleti created a flurry of chances but were unable to make the most of them. In the 7th minute, Simeone's men attempted to hit Barca on the counter, post the Catalans' corner. Carrasco ran forward on the left, cut inside leaving his marker and struck towards the top corner only for Cillessen to block the shot.

Cillessen was tested many more times by the Atleti attack but the Dutch shot-stopper made himself big denying Atletico every time. In the 11th minute, Koke swung in an Atletico free-kick to find Griezmann who, diving, headed it towards the goal only for Cillessen to pary away the header. Again in the 16th minute, Koke

displayed good work in the middle and unleashed a thunder towards the goal but yet again, the Barca goalkeeper was up to the task.

Barcelona were struggling to contain the Atletico firepower and they missed the pace of Neymar on the pitch. Even Messi didn't seem to be at his best losing the ball on four occasions.

As the match wore on, Barcelona started seeing more of the ball and in the 43rd minute, Messi dribbled past two-three Atletico defenders to take a shot from outside the box, which was blocked by a diving Moya but an onrushing Suarez found the ball at his feet and slotted it home.

The second half began in a similar tone but things took an ugly turn when Sergi Roberto was sent off in the 57th minute after he picked up his second booking for a foul on Filipe Luis. With Atletico having an opportunity against a 10-men Barcelona, Griezmann found the back of the net in the 59th minute after he was released in the box. But a terrible offside call from the linesman ruled out the goal.

In the 68th minute, Gerard Pique showed his class when Saul Niguez curled in the ball from the left towards Griezmann but the Spaniard made himself big and cleared the ball in time. Just a minute later, Yannick Carrasco became the second player to be sent off as he picked up his second booking of the game for a rash challenge on Arda Turan.

Back on level terms, Barcelona found their feet and in the 77th minute, Lionel Messi produced a moment of magic as he struck a brilliant curling free-kick from 30 yards out that breached the wall only to be denied by the inside of the crossbar.

Another controversy struck in the 79th minute when Atletico were given a penaltyfor Pique's foul on Gameiro though Pique had got to the ball first. Just when it seemed like Atletico would finally get a goal, Gameiro flew the penalty over.

Gameiro later made up for his missed penalty in the 83rd minute. Griezmann was let through in the Barcelona box and just when it looked like he would go for the shot, he cut the ball on the right towards Gameiro who tapped it in.

When it seemed that the game would go dormant, Luis Suarez received his second booking of the night in the 90th minute to become the third send-off of the ill-tempered game.

Thereafter, Barcelona held to their dear lives and managed to hold Atletico to end the game level.