Atlético Madrid came from two goals down to earn a 4-4 draw at Barcelona in a thrilling first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Tuesday.

Atlético stunned the home side early on, taking a two-goal lead through Julián Álvarez in the first minute and Antoine Griezmann five minutes later.

However, Barcelona hit back with goals from Pedri in the 19th minute and Pau Cubarsí in the 21st, before taking the lead in the 41st minute through Iñigo Martínez's header from a corner.

Barça took control of the game and Robert Lewandowski made it 4-2 in the 74th minute with a close-range finish after great work by Lamine Yamal.

But if the Barça faithful were confident of going into the second leg with a two-goal advantage, Atletico had other ideas.

They struck back through Marcos Llorente in the 84th minute, and a counter-attack goal from Alexander Sorloth in the third minute of stoppage time ensured all was well ahead of the return leg in the Spanish capital on 2 April.

"That was just crazy," Atlético forward Álvarez told Spanish TV station Movistar Plus. "We knew it was not going to be an easy game because we were playing against one of the best teams in Europe. We left with the sensation that we did a great job but there are still 90 minutes left where it's still very close.

"We were winning by two goals but conceded several goals from set pieces and with the 4-2 scoreline it was just a matter of holding on and trying to reduce the deficit for the second leg.

"That's the mentality, always stay in the game. Always keep our heads up, believe that we can do it. That's how we work and you can see that on the pitch."