A few days before the first act of their confrontation in the Champions League, Atlético de Madrid (3rd) and FC Barcelona (1st) found themselves at the Metropolitano in the clash of the weekend in La Liga. A meeting ultimately won by the Blaugrana (1-2), with numerical superiority throughout the entire second period. Affected by injuries and suspensions, the Colchoneros had to do without Oblak, Pubill, Llorente, Cardoso and Barrios, while Álvarez started on the bench. Antoine Griezmann started well against a Barcelona team, without Koundé and Lewandowski in the XI. Olmo started as a false 9.
In a very lively start to the match, Atlético almost took the lead after a Griezmann festival in the area. The Frenchman eliminated two opponents before finally coming up against Garcia (11th). In the process, Fermin found Musso on his way (12th), before seeing his second attempt miss (14th). Found in the area by Baena, Griezmann missed a huge opportunity to open the scoring (28th). Very strong, Lamine Yamal found the post (36th). A missed opportunity which cost the Catalans dearly… Launched in the depth by Lenglet, Giuliano Simeone presented himself in front of Joan Garcia before adjusting and blowing up the Metropolitano (39th, 1-0). An achievement which did not raise doubts for the Catalans, who equalized straight away after a great Olmo-Rashford combination (42nd, 1-1). Despite a very attractive 45 minutes, Atlético returned to the locker room back to back with Barça. And, above all, ten against 11 after the expulsion of Nico González after a tackle on Lamine Yamal (45th + 7).
Barça takes advantage of Real’s misstep
In the second act, Barça thought they were reduced to ten men when Gerard Martin received a red card for a foul on Thiago Almada. But after viewing, Martin first touched the ball before crushing Almada’s ankle. Mr. Busquets Ferrer finally reconsidered his decision and only gave him a yellow card (50th). In numerical superiority, Barça stepped on the accelerator and came very close to taking the advantage. But Yamal (59th) – author of a great festival – as well as Ferran (67th) and Olmo (70th) – who came up against Musso – did not manage to find the fault.
In the 79th minute, Hansi Flick introduced Robert Lewandowski in place of Rashford. A profitable choice for the German. Following enormous work from Cancelo, the Polish international followed the ball pushed back by Musso and scored the winning goal with his shoulder (88th, 1-2). Despite a lively end to the match, it was the Catalans who left Madrid with the three points and who now take a seven-point lead over Real. Now it’s time for the Champions League with the first act of this quarter-final, at the Spotify Camp Nou, on Wednesday.
