Atletico Madrid exit Copa del Rey in shock loss to Cultural Leonesa

Updated: May 17, 2023, 12:17 am

Tiny Cultural Leonesa pulled off a shock 2-1 Copa del Rey win over Atletico Madrid in extra time in the round of 32 on Thursday night.

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A late equaliser from Cultural's Julien Castaneda cancelled out Angel Correa's opener for Atleti before the extra period saw dramatic scenes when Sergio Benito volleyed the winner.

Vitolo missed the best opening of the first period for the away side, poking wide from Joao Felix's through ball. But Correa made no mistake just past the hour mark when he latched onto the Portugal forward's flick to put Atletico ahead.

The visitors pressed for a second and Cultural were indebted to goalkeeper Lucas Giffard for keeping them in the game with a string of fine saves before Castaneda smashed home an equaliser six minutes from time to send the game into extra time.

Julen Castaneda of Cultural Leonesa celebrates after scoring a goal against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey.
Julen Castaneda of Cultural Leonesa celebrates after scoring a goal against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey.
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The Reino de Leon stadium was then sent into delirium as Benito volleyed the ball in at the far post after 108 minutes to ensure the Segunda B outfit of a place in Friday's draw and a spot in the round of 16.

Atleti's last defeat against lower-ranked opposition was against Albacete in 2011. After that loss, the club decided to hire Diego Simeone as its manager.

"There are always difficult moments every season. Sometimes getting knocked out of the Champions League, other times losing two finals... After so much time it's normal that it can happen. Unfortunately, it shouldn't happen," Simeone said.

Despite the shocking elimination, Simeone assured his side will recover and this defeat would not have a big impact on him or his players.

"The penalties in the Champions League [in Milan in 2016] didn't change me, neither did extra time in the Champions League [in Lisbon in 2014], or when we went out in the last 16, and I'm not going to change now. I believe in my players. I have an important squad and for sure we'll get the results soon."

Barcelona and Madrid both eliminated third-division opponents on Wednesday. Barcelona needed two late goals by Antoine Griezmann to defeat Ibiza 2-1, while Madrid beat Unionistas de Salamanca 3-1 with Gareth Bale scoring one of the goals.