FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid they faced each other in Spotify Camp Nou for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. The “Colchoneros” defeated the Catalan team 0-2. Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sørloth were the scorers of the night. FC Barcelona will now have to look for a comeback in the Riyadh Air Metropolitan Stadium.
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Before reaching five minutes into the game, Julián Álvarez had the first day worthy of a star. The Argentine striker surpassed Joao Cancelo and Gerard Martín in speed. With skill he entered the area, cut outwards and He finished low on the grass over the goal defended by Joan García. The Catalan team’s goalkeeper comfortably saved the first big chance of the match.
During the first minutes of the game there were a couple of scenes that caught our attention. Lamine Yamal He took off the mark of Atlético Madrid defenders with ease, but when he delivered the ball he was imprecise. On both occasions Yamal could not give the final pass that would complicate things for the Madrid team.
In the first 15 minutes of the game there was a lot of parity. Atlético Madrid did not retreat too much at the Spotify Camp Nou. Possession was very distributed and, in terms of attacks, each team made 4 shots. An evident element in both teams was the defensive deficiency. Neither club had problems reaching the rival goal.
At 17 minutes, Atlético Madrid suffered the first scare of the match. A pass between the lines from Pedri made Lamine Yamal run down the right side. Yamal centered the ball at grass level and on the other side it came Marcus Rashford to finish in a good way. However, the goal was invalidated for offside. The first big warning from the Catalans.
In 30 minutes, Atlético Madrid began to protect itself a little more in defense. In fact, when FC Barcelona had possession and began to widen the field, The “Colchonera” defensive line became a line of 5 defenders with the inclusion of Simeone. At times up to 6 Atlético personnel were on the last line. The disallowed goal was a warning and “Cholo” made quick decisions.
But appreciations come at a high price at this level. A bad start by Atlético almost generated FC Barcelona’s first goal. Dani Olmo sent a lofted cross to the far post for Marcus Rashford to arrive again. The Englishman was able to connect the ball, but Juan Musso’s reflexes were better. Rashford was one of the most participative, entering by surprise and beating Nahuel Molina.
At 43 minutes into the match and in a counterattack play, FC Barcelona was in a bad position. A long ball from Julián Álvarez led to an interesting attack from Giuliano Simeone. Cubarsí crossed Simeone and, as the last man, won the red card. Although in the first instance he was simply reprimanded, the VAR rectified the predominant’s decision.
There was a double punishment for FC Barcelona in this play. In addition to the expulsion of Cubarsí, Julián Álvarez took advantage of the free kick to score the first goal of the game. The barrier of four people was not enough in the face of Álvarez’s good punch. The ball went over the barrier and lost height until enter the arch defended by Joan García.
Second half
For the second half Ansi Flick decided to make a couple of changes. Robert Lewandoski was replaced by Fermín López and Pedri left for Gavi. Flick decided to overpopulate the defense to combat the numerical inferiority against a team as physical as Atlético Madrid.
At minute 52 of the match, FC Barcelona had an infraction on goal from a very similar place to Julián Álvarez’s goal. Marcus Rashford was in charge of taking the free kick and almost got the tie. Juan Musso, with one hand, touched the violent shot and It diverted its direction directly to the horizontal.
The changes favored Hansi Flick’s team. The numerical superiority was almost not noticeable in the first 20 minutes of the second half. In fact, At times the Catalan team tilted the field on Musso’s goal.
When it seemed that the party was beginning to fall asleep, andl Atlético Madrid began to have the ball a little more. This made the full-back Matteo Ruggeri will be projected on the left side. Ruggeri sent a cross that went very well read and anticipated by Alexander Sorloth who defined first and scored the partial 0-2 at minute 70 of the match.
Hansi Flick made another important decision. The Catalan team’s strategist decided to remove Jules Koundé to bring on Ronald Araújo. The message was clear. With 0-2 down, Flick preferred to sacrifice much more in attack and try to maintain a salvageable difference for the second leg. Besides, Araújo is a tall defender who could counter Alexander Sorloth.
With 12 minutes left, Juan Musso had a couple of safe interventions that kept the goal scoreless. A shot from inside the area Joao Cancelo and another from Lamine Yamal They were contained by the Atlético Madrid goalkeeper. Musso also appeared among the figures at the meeting.
In the final minutes, FC Barcelona could not open the defensive lock that “Cholo” Simeone built. The Catalans tried to discount, but the physical wear and tear was evident. Atlético Madrid also gave up the attack and This made it more complex to clearly reach Musso’s goal.
Atlético Madrid leaves with a good 0-2 lead in the series. The second leg will take place at the Riyadh Air Metropolitan Stadium. This match will be played on Tuesday April 14. Diego Pablo Simeone goes home with a good victory that he will now have to handle in his stadium.
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