A decade later, the Copa del Rey will have a clásico final. First Barcelona played, then they resisted and in the end it was enough to see them through. A wild first leg, 4-4 at Montjuic, gave way to a tense and ultimately tight second in which a single Ferran Torres goal scored in the first half won it. Seville awaits Hansi Flick’s side, two teams still chasing a treble set to meet again, a third and final trophy denied to Atlético.

In the five weeks since the first leg of this semi-final, a superb season slipped away from Diego Simeone’s side. Atlético won just one of five games since then, and that was the Champions League second leg in which they were knocked out on penalties. They also slipped to nine points off the top in La Liga. And now, their cup run is over too. They had taken their opponents to the line but could not get over it themselves. Barcelona could.

The start suggested another wild, open game, Lamine Yamal escaping up the right at one end and Marcos Llorente escaping up the right on the other before the third minute had clocked up. A couple fierce early challenges gave it an edge too, the referee heading to the VAR screen to have a second look at one in which Cesar Azpilicueta caught Raphinha’s calf. The game though soon settled into a pattern imposed by Barcelona, the ball theirs, played with patience but insistence.

As Barcelona moved it swiftly through midfield, Pedri was at the heart of it all, his movement smooth and precise. Alongside him, Frenkie de Jong was superb. The third midfielder, Fermin impressed again, all sharp, incisive runs just ahead of them.

But when the moves quickened and the threat became more real, they tended to do so at the feet of Lamine Yamal. Not so much because he ran at people this time, although he did, and a shift of his hips is often enough to send his marker off the other way, while his first nutmeg came inside two minutes. Not because he was there to finish moves either, although on 11 minutes another quick exchange saw him bend a shot just past the far post from the edge of the area. This was more because of his eye for a pass and his ability to execute it, an awareness of everything happening around him, his decision making always impeccable.

Bit by bit, Barcelona pushed Atlético deeper; bit by bit, they picked their way round them too. A lovely exchange between Torres, Pedri and Raphinha left Torres inside the area and just about to shoot until Robin Le Normand stepped in to stop him. A scooped pass from Lamine Yamal then sent Jules Koundé into the area. Fermin was the next player to see a final pass fall a fraction short, the threat and the growing sense of dominance sufficient for Simeone to restructure his midfield.

The change did not prevent Barcelona taking the lead, Lamine Yamal delivering an angled ball into the area where Ferran slipped in and turned the ball past Juan Musso. Barcelona were entirely in control now, Raphinha increasingly involved. The Brazilian had one free-kick curl over and another chance carved open saw him denied by Musso at the near post.

All Atlético had was a Le Normand header floating over, reaching half-time relieved that the gap was still only one goal. Barcelona had had 69% of the ball and six shots on goal to none. This needed change and Simeone introduced Clement Lenglet, Javi Galan and Alex Sorloth at the break. The second half began with an Antoine Griezmann volley wide. This felt different now, and the fans felt it too, the noise rising. The roof almost came off when Rodrigo De Paul robbed in midfield and played in Sorloth. One on one against Wojciech Szczesny, the goal opening, the Norwegian’s shot struck the side-netting.

The red and white shirts were coming from all sides now, the ball no longer Barcelona’s sole property. And, although a superb surge from Lamine Yamal and Fermin’s awareness opened a chance for Raphinha which might have ended it but for a save from Musso, Flick reacted swiftly to try to close off the spaces. The change was eloquent: game on. The foul count rose, and it was Barcelona committing more of them. In no game this season had they committed as many.

Still Atlético came, Sorloth on to Julián Alvarez’s flick to smash the finish with 20 minutes to go, only to see the flag raised as he ran to the corner, arms wide in celebration.

And that, it turned out, was that. Barcelona managed to wrest a little control back, to hold back the tide and while Atlético were close triumph once again remained just out of touch.