Atletico Madrid and Barcelona split eight goals in Copa del Rey semifinal opening leg draw

Atletico Madrid conceded a two-goal lead, then fought back from two down, in a wild 4-4 draw at Barcelona in a Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal first leg thriller on Tuesday.

Coach Hansi Flick left Barca's top goalscorer Robert Lewandowski out of the starting line-up, with Ferran Torres taking his place in a false nine role at Lluis Companys Stadium, to open the two-legged last-four showdown.

Diego Simeone, on the other hand, picked a strong side despite his team's extremely tricky fixture list. This clash marks the first of three meetings with Barcelona in the space of six weeks, while a UEFA Champions League last 16 tie against city rivals Real Madrid also looms on the horizon.

After Simeone's men scored twice in the opening six minutes through Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann, Barca raced through the gears in a high-octane performance.

Pedri pulled one back with Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, and Lewandowski going on to score for the Catalans.

Marcos Llorente brought Atletico within one, before Alexander Sorloth struck in the 93rd minute to leave the tie level at 4-4, going into the second leg at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on April 2.

"It was crazy, a lot of goals, we knew it wouldn't be easy against one of the best teams in Europe, they've proved that," Alvarez told Movistar. "We did our work too though, and there's 90 minutes to go. We have to continue on this path."

Wednesday night's semifinal opener will feature Real Madrid visiting Real Sociedad.