“He is a double agent”, “Needs to be sold ASAP”

Barcelona fans online slammed Alejandro Balde for his performance after their 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the Copa Del Rey semi-final first leg on February 12, 2026.

The match marked a major defeat for Barcelona this season, as they conceded four times to Atletico Madrid in the first half itself. A massive blunder from goalkeeper Joan Garcia led to Eric Garcia scoring an own goal within 10 minutes (6′), followed by Antoine Griezmann doubling the lead (14′). Ademola Lookman, who delivered a brilliant performance, scored the third (33′) with Julian Alvarez making it 4-0 during half time stoppage time (45’+2).

In the second half, Pau Cubarsi appeared to deny Atletico Madrid the clean sheet. However, the goal was ruled out after a long VAR check due to offside. Further, Eric Garcia was shown a red card (85′), marking another blow for Barcelona.

Fans took to X to react to Alejandro Balde’s performance in particular, with many slamming the 22-year-old’s average showing. One X user wrote:

“Dont have to when balde is a double agent and gives althetico goals and Madrid too dont forget he’s the reason we scored in the first game of the season between us.”

Some other reactions were as follows:

Culers continued to criticize Balde’s performance vs Atletico Madrid:

In 77 minutes of gameplay, Alejandro Balde made no defensive contributions. He won no tackles, made no clearances, recoveries, interceptions or blocked any shot. It marked one of the 22-year-old’s poorest performances this season.

“We can score more”- Barcelona star Eric Garcia makes major claim after 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid

In the post-match press conference, Barcelona defender Eric Garcia made a major claim despite their 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid. The Spaniard claimed that they can come back in the second leg at the Camp Nou by scoring more.

“If they scored 4 goals today… In our stadium, with our people, we can score more. We’re a very young squad. This is a wake up call. We need these experiences to improve,” Garcia said (via Barca Universal).

Further, Eric Garcia also addressed Barcelona’s goal that was ruled out in the second half after an eight-minute VAR check and his own red card.

“I don’t know if it was an offside, but it was weird that they took so long. I can say the same thing about my red card,” he said.

The Copa Del Rey semi-final second leg is set to take place on March 3, 2026. Barca must score five goals or more to qualify for the final, while also stopping Atletico’s lethal attack from scoring more.