April 08, (THEWILL) — Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth were on target to give Atletico Madrid a 2-0 victory over 10-man Barcelona in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final at Camp Nou on Wednesday, leaving the Catalan side with a considerable deficit to overturn in next week’s return fixture.
The opening exchanges were competitive, with Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso blocking a goal-bound effort from Marcus Rashford before Antoine Griezmann narrowly failed to connect with a cross-shot delivered by Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman.
Barcelona then had a goal disallowed in the 18th minute when Rashford put the ball in the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for a prior offside against Lamine Yamal.
The contest changed entirely in the closing moments of the first half. A VAR review confirmed that Pau Cubarsi had been dismissed for clipping Giuliano Simeone from behind and denying him a clear opportunity on goal.
From the resulting free-kick, 25 yards from goal, Alvarez curled a superb effort over the wall and beyond the reach of the Barcelona goalkeeper.
Hansi Flick withdrew Robert Lewandowski and Pedri at the interval, yet Barcelona continued to threaten, with Rashford their chief outlet.
He struck the side netting after being forced wide and had a free-kick from a similar range to Alvarez’s effort tipped onto the crossbar.
Atletico made their numerical advantage count in the 70th minute when substitute Sorloth swept Matteo Ruggeri’s delivery into the far corner.
Joao Cancelo struck the outside of the post in the closing stages with Barcelona in pursuit of a lifeline.
The Camp Nou crowd applauded their side off the pitch at full time, though Flick’s team now face a formidable challenge in the second leg to avoid a quarter-final exit.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
