Atletico Madrid scored twice after Barcelona was reduced to 10 men to earn a valuable 2-0 road win and take the advantage in their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday.
Barcelona had hemmed Atletico into its box when the hosts received a double blow that left Hansi Flick’s team down a man and behind a goal just before halftime.
The game-changing sequence started when Atletico’s Giuliano Simeone broke free to latch onto a rare long ball and Barcelona defender Pau Cubars knocked him down on the edge of the area with only goalkeeper Joan Garca to beat. After initially showing Cubars a yellow card, the referee changed it to a red following a video review.
Red car and Julian Alvarez scored
It got worse for Barcelona seconds later when Julin lvarez curled the resulting free kick around the defensive barrier and past a flying Garca for the 45th-minute lead.
Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford tried to rally Barcelona at Camp Nou and kept the pressure on Atletico despite being undermanned.
But that fightback effort was undone when substitute striker Alexander Sorloth shrugged off a challenge by Gerard Martn as he moved to the near post and tapped in a cross from Matteo Ruggeri to double the lead with 20 minutes to play. The second leg is in Madrid on Tuesday.
PSG are far superior, but Liverpool are still in the running
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia added another solo goal to his collection as Paris Saint-Germain beat Liverpool 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday.
The Georgia star cut in from the left flank midway through the second half and, with typically quick feet, skipped past a defender and the goalkeeper before stroking in his team-leading eighth goal of the competition. “We had chances to score more,” Kvaratskhelia said. “But I think it’s OK, 2-0 is good but we have to stay concentrated.”
Dsir Dou put the defending champions ahead in the 11th minute with a deflected effort. Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembl spurned three chances at Parc des Princes.