Barcelona's treble chances are under serious threat.

MADRID, FRIDAY — In a match as significant as the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, even the smallest mistake can have fatal consequences. Barcelona experienced this bitter reality, suffering a 0-4 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first semifinal at the Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, on Friday (13/2/2026) early morning WIB. Barca's chances of ending the season with three trophies are now at risk. Only a miracle can help the "Blaugrana" advance to the final.

The defeat was a wake-up call for Barca, who had been riding high due to their impressive performance in the last 16 matches. During that period, Barca secured 15 victories and suffered only one loss against Real Sociedad. The possibility of Barca being defeated by Atletico remained, but no one expected the score to be so lopsided.

Only a miracle could bring Barca to turn the situation around in the second semifinal. The worst-case scenario is that Barca is eliminated in the semifinals, leaving the chance to win a major trophy this season only in La Liga and the Champions League.

However, on paper, Barca has not been eliminated. It will require extra effort from the Barca players to overcome the scenario of Atletico playing passively in order to advance to the final. As is known, Atletico under the guidance of Diego Simeone is very clever as well as pragmatic.

They knew how to maintain their advantage until the end. The tendency to play it safe was evident after leading by four goals in the first half, thanks to an own goal by Eric Garcia, and goals from Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman, and Julian Alvarez.

In the second half, Simeone ordered his players to pile up in defense to prevent Barca from scoring a reply.

Nevertheless, Barca's coach, Hansi Flick, is trying to foster optimism by stating that scoring more than four goals at Camp Nou is not impossible. "This is not over yet. We need our supporters in the stadium, and we will fight for 90 minutes to reach the final," said Flick.

Flick is responsible for this embarrassing defeat. His decision to play Marc Casado from the start came at a high cost. Although he performed well against Real Mallorca, fielding Casado in such a significant match as the Copa del Rey semifinal can be considered a mistake.

Flick deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation with Frenkie de Jong and Casado as defensive midfielders. When attacking, the formation shifted to a 4-3-3. De Jong was instructed to play further forward, leaving Casado as the only defensive midfielder during rest defense.

However, Casado played poorly, struggling to protect Barca's back four. He also tended to lose possession easily, making him a target for Atletico's counter-pressing.

"I have to be honest. Atletico could easily penetrate our defense. There was too much space (in the defense)," said Barca defender, Eric Garcia, who received a red card for having to bring down Alex Baena, who was exploiting the empty space in Barca's defense.

On the other hand, Flick's decision to play Casado means sacrificing Dani Olmo to the left wing position.

As could be expected, Olmo, who is originally positioned as an attacking midfielder, was less effective when playing as a winger. Throughout the match, Olmo did not make a single accurate shot on target. His chance creation statistics were also very low, with only two instances.

Flick cited injury as the reason for the tactical changes he implemented this time. The left-wing forward position at Barca is vacant following the departure of Marcus Rashford and the injury to Raphinha. For this reason, Flick was compelled to place Olmo as a substitute.

"I have to accept the fact that we played poorly tonight. Of course, the problem lies in the first 45 minutes. It's like a lesson we have gone through, and sometimes it's good that this lesson comes at the right time in the season," said Flick.

Barca supporters remain confident that their team will advance, even though the hope is slim. One post that continues to circulate on social media following Barca's defeat is a snapshot of the score when Barca demolished Paris Saint-Germain, 6-1, at home in the round of 16 of the Champions League in the 2016-2017 season.

As it is now, Barca also suffered a four-goal defeat at the home of PSG. Unexpectedly, that four-goal deficit was overturned by Barca, who ultimately advanced with an aggregate score of 6-5.

From that great experience in the past, Barca's hopes are not entirely lost. The opportunity for a remontada or comeback still exists. The issue is that Flick must not repeat the same mistakes, as errors are highly intolerable in the second semifinal. (REUTERS)