Heading into Thursday night's Copa del Rey first-leg tie at the Metropolitano, Barca had eight wins from the last 10 head-to-head matches with Diego Simeone’s side, and no losses in their last eight Copa del Rey ties against them (W6, D2).
Barcelona held a huge pre-match advantage
Eight of Barcelona's last nine away games had also been won, as had 11 of their last 12 Copa del Rey away games.
Hansi Flick had yet to lose a Spanish cup tie whilst in charge of the Catalans, and the Rojiblancos had only won four of the 10 games they'd played in all competitions during 2026 (D3, L3).
Thursday nights had generally been kind to them, however, as Atleti had won nine of their previous 12 matches played on that day of the week.
What might be considered a slightly weaker Barca lineup - they were without Pedri, Raphinha and Marcus Rashford - were on the back foot almost immediately, with Giuliano Simeone going close.
Garcia's moment of madness
Just six minutes in, a lapse of concentration from visiting custodian, Joan Garcia, saw Eric Garcia's tame back pass trickle over the line for an own goal.
The writing could then be said to have already been on the wall for Barca, as the hosts had avoided defeat in their last 10 Copa del Rey matches when scoring first, going back to January 2023 and a 3-1 loss to neighbours Real Madrid.
Though the visitors would hit the woodwork shortly afterwards, the intensity of Atleti's midfield and attack was on a different level to their opponents.
Even before Antoine Griezmann had doubled the lead against his old side after just 14 minutes, the hosts had overrun Barca's defence for fun.
A nightmare for Balde
Alejandro Balde, in particular, was having a nightmare start to the game. Before he was subbed off later in the match, he had not attempted nor won a single tackle all night.
He managed to get forward with aplomb, but then his pass success in the final third (80%) was the lowest of all Barca's starters, bar Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal. Therefore, one could reasonably conclude that whilst he looked busy, there was little purpose to his play.
That could also be levelled at the side as a whole, given that they'd done little with their collective 70% possession in the opening 15 minutes of the game.
Julian Alvarez had a shot cleared off the line as Atleti continued to threaten before Ademola Lookman killed the game as a contest just after the half-hour mark with a third goal, crafted again down Balde's side of the pitch.
Four goals in 45 minutes
Unbelievably, the same playbook handed Atleti a fourth in first-half stoppage time, Alvarez slamming home his first goal since December 9th - and his first in the Copa del Rey since February 25th last year - against Barcelona.
It was the third time in this season's competition that Barca had failed to score in the first half, indicating a recurring issue for Hansi Flick and his staff to contend with, and only the second time since 2003/04 that Barcelona had shipped four first-half goals (the 8-2 loss v a Flick-led Bayern Munich being the other).
The visitors at least came out for the second half with some fire in their belly, and after Fermin Lopez had gone close twice, it appeared that Pau Cubarsi had given Barca a lifeline. Only for the goal to be overturned by VAR after an eight-minute delay.
With that decision went the Catalan outfit's chances of winning the game.
Barca couldn't handle Atletico's intensity
Only Lamine, winning 13 of his 21 one-on-one duels, by far the most of any player on the pitch, and Fermin, winning six of his 11 attempted, showed anything like the battling qualities required to help get their side a consolation, at the very least, to take back to Camp Nou.
However, they were no match for the likes of Koke, David Hancko, Lookman, Simeone and Marcos Llorente, all of whom worked their socks off to stifle every aspect of Barca's natural game.
The hosts' collective pass completion was appalling when set against a side who had upped theirs to 81% in the second-half, but Atleti were simply sharper when required, more robust in the challenge and never looked likely to surrender their lead.
To compound Barca's evening, Eric Garcia was sent off for a professional foul late on - their first red in the Spanish Cup since February 7th 2017 against Atletico - and will miss the second leg as a result.
Although the visitors managed 14 shots in the game, it was their lowest total in this season's competition, and evidence of just how well harnessed they were by a spectacularly well-prepared Atletico.
