Madrid's Atletico confidently took the lead in the Champions League quarterfinals, achieving an away victory at Camp Nou with a score of 2-0 against Barcelona, who played the entire second half with ten men.
The hosts dominated the field, but the solid defense of Diego Simeone's team, combined with quick counterattacks, paid off after Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi was sent off for a foul on Giuliano Simeone in the 42nd minute.
In added time of the first half, Madrid forward Alvarez brilliantly curled the ball from a free kick from 25 meters into the top corner of the goal, silencing the packed Catalan stadium. Shortly after the break, Marcus Rashford hit the crossbar from a free kick, but Diego Simeone's team maintained their discipline and doubled their lead in the 70th minute.
Defender Matteo Ruggeri delivered a cross from the left flank, and Sörloth scored with a close-range shot, securing a convincing 2-0 away victory for Atletico, after which Barcelona faces a daunting task on the road to advance to the semifinals of the top European tournament.
The winner of this two-legged tie will meet either London’s Arsenal or Portugal’s Sporting in the Champions League semifinals. "We are very happy with the victory, but there is still a lot of work ahead. The semifinals are still far away. We need to stay calm and confident, but also remain realistic," said Atletico midfielder Antoine Griezmann in an interview with Movistar Plus.
In the absence of captain Rafinha and key central defender Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick started Englishman Marcus Rashford. The German specialist paired the former Manchester United forward with Robert Lewandowski and young winger Lamine Yamal. Rashford was active on the left flank, constantly stretching Atletico's defense.
In the 13th minute, he shot just over the goal, and five minutes later, it seemed he had put Barcelona ahead by finishing off Yamal's low cross at the far post, but the celebration was cut short when VAR detected an offside on the Spanish wonderkid during the attack.
Atletico preferred to play defensively with five defenders and created few goal-scoring opportunities. Yamal and Rashford continually attacked, trying to outplay Ruggeri and Nahuel Molina on the flanks, although there was little space in the final third. Simeone's team continued to counterattack dangerously, with Alvarez and Ademola Lookman missing promising chances in the first half.
The course of the match changed at the end of the first half. In the 42nd minute, referee István Kovács sent off Cubarsi after reviewing VAR for a foul on Giuliano Simeone as he broke through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, changing the initial yellow card to a red. Atletico immediately responded with a free kick. Alvarez curled the ball beautifully into the top right corner of the goal, past goalkeeper Joan Garcia, stunning Camp Nou.
After the break, Barcelona tried to turn the game around, but they could not break through Atletico's defense, which steadfastly adhered to its disciplined game strategy. The visitors doubled their lead in the 70th minute when Ruggeri, in combination with substitute Sörloth, calmly finished the attack. Atletico confidently saw the match to the end and gained a significant advantage ahead of the return leg.
"We tried, but it didn’t work out. In the second half, we came out stronger despite playing with a man down. We had possession of the ball but couldn't score. We are disappointed with the loss, but I think we can turn the situation around in the return leg," said Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo.
