Atlético Madrid pulled off a brilliant result at Camp Nou last night, beating Barcelona 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
It was a lively, end-to-end match early on, with both sides having a go. Barcelona had plenty of the ball, but Atlético were well-organised and happy to sit deep and hit on the counter.
The turning point came just before half-time, when Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí was shown a red card for a professional foul, leaving his side with ten men. Julián Alvarez made them pay straight away, curling a superb free-kick into the top corner to give Atlético the lead.
Despite being a man down, Barcelona kept pressing in the second half. Marcus Rashford came close on a couple of occasions, even hitting the crossbar with a free-kick, and Dani Olmo narrowly missed at the far post. However, Atlético soaked up the pressure and then caught Barcelona on the break, substitute Alexander Sørloth finishing calmly with his left foot to make it 2-0.
It was Barcelona’s first defeat in ten matches, and Atlético’s first win at Camp Nou since 2006. Rashford was named Man of the Match despite being on the losing side.
The second leg is yet to come, with Atlético firmly in the driving seat.
