Sevilla, who trailed 2-1 from the opening match, looked to be heading out of the competition when Diego Costa and Radamel Falcao gave their opponents the lead Wednesday night.

Jesus Navas gave the home side hope before the interval, but a red card for Gary Medel in the second half complicated matters further.

Ivan Rakitic’s eventual equalizer came too late for Sevilla, who also saw Geoffrey Kondogbia sent off in the dying seconds to cap a miserable evening.

With the rain lashing down at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Atletico were in front after just six minutes thanks to Costa, who held off the challenges of two defenders before drilling home from 10 yards out.

It took Sevilla 20 minutes to create its first meaningful chance, with Navas looping a ball to the far post where Medel headed narrowly wide.

And the miss came back to haunt them nine minutes later when Atletico scored again. Costa was at the heart of the move, whipping in a cross from the left to Falcao, who hit a first-time shot into the bottom right corner.

This time Sevilla managed to respond, and 10 minutes later Navas had added his name to the scoresheet, smashing home an angled shot off the right post following a cross from Jose Antonio Reyes.

That sparked a spell of pressure from the home side, and it should have been level three minutes before the interval but Rakitic failed to finish Medel’s assist and directed a header wide from an unmarked position.

Sevilla pushed again in the second half, but Alvaro Negredo was denied after 53 minutes by a parried save from visiting goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Moments later Costa should have put the match beyond doubt for Atletico, but he failed to make the most of his chance from a few yards out and, under pressure from a defender, poked a shot wide of the left post.

Sevilla’s evening took a further turn for the worse after 76 minutes when Medel was shown first a yellow card and then a red for dissent.

Atletico failed to finish off its opponents though, and Sevilla grabbed a late if immaterial equalizer in stoppage time when Kondogbia’s through ball found Rakitic, who finished right footed into the bottom corner.

The match then finished on a sour note for Kondogbia, who saw a straight red in the final seconds for bringing his foot down on Costa.

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The German international said in an interview published on Madrid’s official website on Tuesday that clasicos were the biggest games in football, and players always looked forward to them.

“We will do everything we can to win,” Ozil said. “It is the best derby in the world and the whole planet will be following it. It is always something special for us. The players want to show what we can do and always play against the best. We want to reward our fans with a win against Barcelona.”

The game is the fourth meeting of the sides already this season, and two more clasicos are to come in the next few weeks. Ozil said memories of wins over Barca – such as the 2011 Copa del Rey final, last autumn’s Spanish Supercopa win or the La Liga victory at the Camp Nou last April – always stuck in his mind.

“The best moments are when you win trophies with the club,” he said. “That final against Barcelona, when we beat them in the Super Cup, or winning in La Liga, those stay in your memory for ever.”

Madrid’s team, especially at the back, will be below full-strength for the game. Goalkeeper Iker Casillas, defenders Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao, and winger Angel Di Maria, are all missing through either injury or suspension.

Nevertheless, Ozil said that the aim is to win on Wednesday and take a lead into the second leg at the Camp Nou in three weeks time.

“Naturally we know Barcelona have a very strong team, with very good players, but we are concentrating on ourselves,” he said. “We are in good form and we are playing at home. Our aim is to win the match. We want to reach the final.”

By contrast Barca travel to Madrid with a full squad to choose from, with Copa keeper Jose Pinto the only likely change to their strongest XI.

The Catalan club’s assistant coach Jordi Roura insisted on Tuesday however that neither Madrid’s absentees, nor Barca’s 15 point advantage in the Primera Division standings, were necessarily an advantage for his side.

“Madrid, with the quality of its team and the big squad they have, will not be affected by the absences,” Roura said. “I expect a Madrid team that is intense and difficult for us. They will be the Madrid of always, a super-competitive team. For me, the circumstances will make Madrid even more dangerous. With players or missing or without, they have a good squad, they are a great team.”

Aware of how previous clasicos have boiled over regularly during Jose Mourinho’s time in charge at Madrid, Roura said he expected this “competitive” side of their rivals’ approach to stay within the laws of the game.

“Madrid always come out to play football,” he said. “Each team has their own style, with their own characteristics. Madrid with its style, Barca with its style, will play a great game. I do not expect a dirty Madrid. Anything else would be out of place.”

Roura, in charge as Barca boss Tito Vilanova remains in New York receiving medical treatment, said overseeing a clasico was not especially stressful.

“I am taking this calmly and naturally,” he said. “It is just one more game and I am not playing. It is these extraordinary players who will be doing that.”

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“I want to see out my contract at Real Madrid: I’m very clear about that. After that, well, I don’t know what’ll happen in the future,” Ronaldo said in an interview with FIFA.com.

Ronaldo was serving a suspension and did not play on Saturday against Osasuna. Real Madrid was held to a 0-0 draw, leaving the team 18 points behind leaders Barcelona at the halfway point of the La Liga season.

Retaining the league title is unlikely, Ronaldo admitted.

“We have not started the championship very well, for sure,” Ronaldo said. “We know that La Liga is an uphill struggle for us now, but nothing is impossible in football. We are going to work hard, win games and see what happens. And, of course, there is the Champions League and the Copa del Rey too. There is plenty for us to win this season.”

Ronaldo also acknowledged that he feels even more pressure to play well at Real Madrid than he did when he was under contract for Manchester United.

“I’ve been here for 3½ years now and I think that’s the case because everyone involved is totally focused on winning the club’s 10th European Cup. That creates a certain amount of anxiety, which can be felt at all times,” Ronaldo said, adding that he thinks the pressure sometimes gets to the team. “But we have to try and rise above it and not let what people say get to us, particularly the media, as Real Madrid get spoken about every day. At the end of the day it comes down to an individual decision, whether you want to read the papers or not. I don’t think what the papers say matters too much, so there’s no need to overdramatize the issue.”

Ronaldo defended coach Jose Mourinho’s style.

“People do protest and you have to respect that, though I think they should be a bit patient with him. To me it’s very clear that Mourinho always wants what’s best for the club and will fight to the death to defend it,” he said. “In my view he’s the best coach in the world, he’s got loads of experience and has won everything there is to win.”

Real Madrid hosts Valencia in Tuesday’s Copa del Rey quarterfinal first leg, where Ronaldo will likely see action, along with Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema and Ricardo Carvalho.

Regarding February’s Champions League last-16 match against his former club Manchester United, Ronaldo said he saw the ties as a difficult step towards a 10th European Cup for Madrid.

“Every Madridista wants that 10th European Cup — we are more than aware of that,” he said. “Last season we fell just short, which was very frustrating. The fact we face Manchester United next makes it more difficult. It is not going to be easy and I reckon the odds are about 50-50, but I am still very confident.”

Despite last week’s rumors he is being courted by Paris Saint Germain, Ronaldo gave no indication of the “sadness” he reported last September that sparked the speculation about his future.

“I’m doing something I like, something that I enjoy,” he said. “I know how fortunate I am and I feel very fulfilled.”

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