Champions League
Barcelona Wins—But Is Eliminated by Atlético
Barcelona won Tuesday’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg 2-1 at Atletico Madrid but was eliminated due to the 0-2 loss in the first leg.
Atletico trailed 0-2 after 25 minutes following goals by Lamine Yamal (4th) and Ferran Torres (24th), but still managed to advance with a 1-2 victory. Ademola Lookman (31st) put the Madrid side back on track with his goal. Barcelona pressed for a third goal afterward but to no avail. Eric Garcia was shown a red card for the Catalans in the 80th minute. In the semifinals, Atletico will face the winner of the match between Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon.
Barcelona celebrates early
Atletico vs. Barcelona took the stage for the sixth time this season. The Madrid side had already knocked the Blaugrana out of the title race in the Copa del Rey semifinals. However, the lead from the first leg melted away quickly. Juan Musso had to dive after just half a minute to stop a shot by Yamal; a few minutes later, Atletico’s goalkeeper was beaten. The young Spanish star capitalized on a mistake by former Barca defender Clement Lenglet in his 150th competitive match for Barcelona, coolly slotting the ball through Musso’s legs.
But Barcelona’s attacking style of play also gave Atlético space. Long-time coach Diego Simeone had rested virtually his entire starting lineup in the 1-2 loss in Seville over the weekend. The Argentine watched as Dani Olmo had the visitors’ next good chance on his foot after ten minutes. In the 24th minute, Hansi Flick had got everything right with his lineup change. Torres—who had been played in by Olmo and had been given the nod over Robert Lewandowski—equalized the match and silenced the Estadio Metropolitano.
Fermin Lopez nearly made it 3-0 with a header, but the next goal would bring Atletico back into the game. Barcelona’s risky play led to a counterattack, and Lookman was on hand to capitalize. The damage to Atletico was thus limited for the time being. Barcelona kept pressing. Torres scored with a volley ten minutes after the restart, but the goal was disallowed due to the Barcelona striker being offside.
Goalkeeper Joan Garcia kept the Catalans in the game with a brilliant save before scenes from the first leg were repeated. Garcia held back substitute Alexander Sörloth and was shown a red card for a professional foul following a VAR review. Atlético successfully defended their lead. The first home loss in the Champions League knockout stage in 14 years under Simeone was meaningless.
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