Article body analysed
This video can not be played Alvarez scores incredible free-kick as Atletico beat 10-man Barcelona At a glance Barcelona reduced to 10 men just before break when Pau Cubarsi sent off Julian Alvarez subsequently scores from free-kick Marcus Rashford hits woodwork in second half for hosts Alexander Sorloth sweeps in second for Atletico PLAYER RATER Atletico Madrid took a huge step towards reaching the Champions League semi-finals as they claimed an impressive win at 10-man Barcelona. The visitors had not won at the Nou Camp since 2006 before Wednesday but goals in either half by Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth secured the win in the first-leg of their quarter-final tie. Barcelona had been the better side for much of the game but a foul on Giuliano Simeone by Pau Cubarsi just before half-time proved pivotal. The defender was initially shown a yellow card by referee Istvan Kovacs after sending Simeone flying as he broke through one-on-one, but that was changed to a red card when Kovacs was asked by the video assistant referee to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. Alvarez then compounded Barcelona's misery by superbly sending the free-kick beyond the goalkeeper's reach and into the back of the net. To Barcelona's credit, they responded well to going a man down and dominated the second half, with Marcus Rashford going closest to equalising when he hit the crossbar from a free-kick. But instead, they were dealt a further blow when Atletico grabbed a second, Alexander Sorloth sweeping home from Matteo Ruggeri's low cross. The defeat leaves Barcelona with it all to do when they travel to Madrid in the second leg next Tuesday. Barcelona will have gone into this game fully confident of getting a win, given their recent results. They had won eight and drawn one of their previous nine games in all competitions, with their last outing before Wednesday seeing them win 2-1 at Atletico Madrid in La Liga. They certainly had chances to continue the momentum in this game as they had 24 attempts on goal, with the lively Rashford seeing a couple of efforts saved as well as having a strike chalked off after Lamine Yamal was ruled offside. Yamal was uncharacteristically quiet, but ultimately it was those couple of minutes just before the break when Cubarsi was sent off and Alvarez scored that proved decisive. That allowed Atletico to sit off Barcelona and avoid taking any risks as they finished the game with just three shots on target, but in contrast to Barcelona they were clinical with those, scoring from two of them. Atletico have eliminated Barcelona in both of their previous Champions League knockout ties and while Hansi Flick's side will draw confidence from their recent win in Madrid, they will need to be at their very best to turn this tie around. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Manager: Hansi Flick Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Diego Simeone Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Manager: Hansi Flick Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Diego Simeone Formation: 4 - 4 - 2 Barcelona Barcelona Atlético Atletico Madrid High chance of scoring Medium chance of scoring Low chance of scoring Dominant period Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute. The momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute. Match momentum measures the swing of the match by comparing each team’s threat to see who is more likely to score within that minute. The momentum value is the difference between each team’s most dangerous moment, or team threat, in that minute. Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Atlético Atletico Madrid Atlético Atletico Madrid Atlético Atletico Madrid Atlético Atletico Madrid Atlético Atletico Madrid Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Atlético Atletico Madrid Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Atlético Atletico Madrid Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Atlético Atletico Madrid Atlético Atletico Madrid Barcelona Barcelona Atlético Atletico Madrid Atlético Atletico Madrid Atlético Atletico Madrid Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Atlético Atletico Madrid Barcelona Barcelona Atlético Atletico Madrid Atlético Atletico Madrid UEFA Champions League All competitions All competitions All competitions Barcelona and Atlético Madrid will meet for a fifth time in European competition, with all five coming at the quarter-final stage of the UEFA Champions League (2013-14 and 2015-16 previously). Atlético Madrid have only lost one of their previous four UEFA Champions League games against Barcelona (W2 D1), and have eliminated the Catalan side in both of their previous knockout stage ties (2-1 on aggregate in 2013-14 and 3-2 in 2015-16). Only Paris SG (3) have eliminated Barcelona more times in the knockout stages of the European Cup/Champions League. Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 25 games against Atlético Madrid at the Camp Nou across all competitions (W17 D8), with their last defeat coming in February 2006, when Atlético were managed by Pepe Murcia (1-3 defeat in La Liga). Atlético Madrid have never won a UEFA Champions League away match against a fellow Spanish opponent, losing four of the five they have played (D1). Diego Simeone’s side are also winless in their last six away games in the knockout stages of the competition (D1 L5), with their last victory coming at Old Trafford against Manchester United in March 2022 (1-0). Barcelona have scored more UEFA Champions League goals (73) than any other team since Hansi Flick took charge of them. However, they haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 13 games, which is already their longest ever run without one in major European competition. Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has the best win percentage by any manager with 10+ games in the UEFA Champions League (73. 8% - 31/42), as well as the best win percentage in knockout stage matches (min. 10 games) in the competition (70. 6% - 12/17). Raphinha has been directly involved in 33 goals in 33 UEFA Champions League appearances for Barcelona (19 goals, 14 assists), while he leads all players for goal involvements in knockout stage matches since the start of the 2023-24 season (17 - 10 goals, 7 assists). Julián Alvarez has scored more goals (8), made more assists (4) and created more chances (29) than any other Atlético Madrid player in the UEFA Champions League this season, while also applying more high-intensity pressures than any other player (all teams) in the 2025-26 edition (702). Lamine Yamal has five goals and four assists in eight UEFA Champions League appearances this season. Should he score or assist in this game, he will become the youngest player to record 10+ goal involvements in a single edition (18y 269d), with the current youngest being Erling Haaland (19y 212d – 10 goals, one assist in 2019-2020). Pablo Barrios has made more line-breaking passes in the final third than any other Atlético Madrid player in the UEFA Champions League this season (42). As a team, Atlético have averaged 32. 6 per game in this edition when Barrios has been in the starting XI (8 games), compared to just 22. 5 when he hasn’t started (4 games). Attempt blocked. Marcus Rashford (Barcelona) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Eric García. Substitution, Atletico Madrid. Álex Baena replaces Koke. Substitution, Atletico Madrid. Alexander Sørloth replaces Ademola Lookman. Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Matteo Ruggeri. Attempt missed. Fermín López (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Gavi. Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Juan Musso. Attempt saved. Marcus Rashford (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid). Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Foul by Robin Le Normand (Atletico Madrid). Attempt missed. Marcus Rashford (Barcelona) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Lamine Yamal with a through ball. Substitution, Barcelona. Gavi replaces Pedri. Substitution, Barcelona. Fermín López replaces Robert Lewandowski. Second Half begins Barcelona 0, Atletico Madrid 1. First Half ends, Barcelona 0, Atletico Madrid 1. Offside, Atletico Madrid. Marcos Llorente is caught offside. Attempt saved. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid). Assisted by João Cancelo. Marc Pubill (Atletico Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing. Foul by Marc Pubill (Atletico Madrid). Fourth official has announced 4 minutes of added time. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.