Barcelona’s thrilling 4-4 draw against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg left many wondering what could have been.
Despite dominating large spells of the game, the Blaugrana were undone by costly mistakes—something that defender Iñigo Martínez was quick to highlight.

Speaking after the game, the Spanish centre-back admitted that Barcelona should have secured a comfortable victory but allowed Atletico back into the match with errors at key moments.

“When you give gifts to these Atletico players, they obviously score goals. We were far superior,” Martínez lamented. “I think this match could have ended 6-2, but it ended 4-4. It will be difficult to return to a field as difficult as theirs, but if we do things the way we know, we will succeed.”

Martínez pointed out that Barcelona’s lapses in concentration at the start and end of the match proved costly. “We made two mistakes at the end and two at the start. Everything looked good, but we saw that this team has to be focused throughout the match.”

The defender also drew parallels with their previous encounter in La Liga, where Atletico mounted a late comeback against them. “They smelled blood at the end, they did the same thing to us in the league. Now we have to rest and keep winning in the league,” he added.

With the return leg at the Wanda Metropolitano looming, Barcelona will need to sharpen their focus if they hope to book a place in the Copa del Rey final.