Atletico Madrid produced a dominant first-half display to overwhelm Real Betis and secure a place in the Copa del Rey semi-finals with a convincing 5-0 victory. The emphatic win also extended Atletico’s unbeaten away run in all competitions to eight matches.

Betis, who had won their previous five home games, nearly made a dream start when Abde Ezzalzouli controlled a long pass and curled a long-range effort narrowly wide inside the opening six minutes. However, it was Atletico who struck first soon after.

In the 12th minute, captain Koke delivered a precise corner to the near post, where David Hancko rose highest to head home his second goal of the campaign. The visitors almost doubled their advantage shortly afterwards when debutant Ademola Lookman broke through on goal, but he dragged his effort wide.

The hosts missed a chance to respond midway through the half as Nelson Deossa fired over from the edge of the area, and that miss proved costly. Moments later, Atletico doubled their lead through Giuliano Simeone, who tapped in Matteo Ruggeri’s cutback after a slick move down the left flank.

Eight minutes before the interval, Lookman marked his debut with a superb goal. Collecting Pablo Barrios’ pass, he shifted the ball onto his right foot, beat two defenders, and fired past Adrian to complete a rapid counter-attack and give Atletico a commanding 3-0 lead at the break.

Betis, who had scored in 28 of their previous 29 Copa del Rey matches, looked to respond after half-time. Ezzalzouli came close early in the second period but could only direct his shot straight at Juan Musso.

Atletico remained in control and added a fourth goal just after the hour mark. Lookman turned provider this time, setting up Antoine Griezmann, whose powerful effort slipped through Adrian’s hands for his fourth goal in the competition this season.

With the tie effectively settled, Diego Simeone made several substitutions. One of those, Thiago Almada, capped the performance seven minutes from time by converting after Adrian had saved Griezmann’s initial attempt.

The result sealed Atletico’s 11th victory in their last 14 meetings with Betis and handed the hosts only their fourth home defeat of the season in all competitions. As 10-time Copa del Rey champions, Simeone’s side once again underlined their pedigree in the competition.

Betis will hope to avoid another meeting with Atletico in the near future, but their schedule offers little respite, with a LaLiga trip to Madrid awaiting them on Sunday.