Atletico Madrid took a significant step towards reaching the Champions League semi-finals with an excellent victory over 10-man Barcelona.
Before Wednesday, the visitors hadn’t won at the Nou Camp since 2006, but Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth scored goals in either half to secure the victory in the first leg of their quarter-final encounter.
Barcelona had been the superior team for much of the game, but a foul on Giuliano Simeone by Pau Cubarsi shortly before halftime proved decisive.
Referee Istvan Kovacs initially gave the defender a yellow card for sending Simeone flying as he burst through one-on-one, but this was modified to a red card when Kovacs was asked by the video assistant referee to assess the incident on the pitchside.
Alvarez then added to Barcelona’s anguish by expertly hitting the free-kick past the goalkeeper’s reach and into the net.
To their credit, Barcelona responded well to being down a man and dominated the second half, with Marcus Rashford coming closest to equalizing when he hit the crossbar with a free kick.
Instead, they were handed a blow when Atletico scored again, with Alexander Sorloth scooping home from Matteo Ruggeri’s low cross.
Barcelona faces a daunting task in the second leg against Madrid next Tuesday.
Given their previous results, Barcelona will be totally confident in their chances of winning.
They had won eight and drawn one of their previous nine games in all competitions, including a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in La Liga before Wednesday.
They had plenty of chances to keep their momentum going in this game, with the energetic Rashford having a number of strikes saved and a strike chalked off after Lamine Yamal was ruled offside.
Yamal was uncharacteristically quiet, but it was the few minutes right before halftime when Cubarsi was sent off and Alvarez scored that proved crucial.
That allowed Atletico to sit off Barcelona and avoid taking any risks, as they finished the game with only three shots on goal, but unlike Barcelona, they were clinical with them, scoring on two.
Atletico has eliminated Barcelona in both of their previous Champions League knockout matches, and while Hansi Flick’s team will be buoyed by their recent victory in Madrid, they will need to be at their best to turn this tie around.
