Match report, emphatic win and a giant step towards the dream | OneFootball

A tremendous victory and a huge step forward for Atlético to keep dreaming of something historic in the Champions League, after knocking out Barcelona. A 0-2 win for Cholo Simeone’s men at Camp Nou, though dampened by the injury to Hancko and the yellow card for Pubill, who will miss the return leg at the Metropolitano.

We will have to keep a close eye on the Slovenian’s recovery after his ankle injury, which he suffered during a Barça attack in the first half and which forced him to be replaced by Pubill, meaning the defense will have to be reshuffled for the upcoming fixtures.

The match began with chances at both ends, although Barcelona had more control, along with an attempt by Atleti to press high during the buildup, with Musso standing out in particular for his solidity throughout the match in the interventions he had to make.

Koke took a risk almost as soon as the match began with a challenge on Dani Olmo, the Romanian referee sparing him a card at that moment, though he would show him one later on, putting him in the spotlight and in danger of being sent off for a second yellow, a situation the captain handled very well.

In the 26th minute came the ankle twist that forced him out of the match, with a superb Pubill coming on and doing his job to perfection (despite being shown a card he did not deserve), as has been the case almost every time this season.

Although Lamine Yamal stood out especially in the second half, it was Marcus Rashford who was Barcelona’s most dangerous player in the first half, though without managing to beat Musso.

That was something Julián Alvarez did manage almost at the end of the first half, at the moment the match swung decisively. A ball played into space for Giuliano, who was brought down by Cubarsí. He was the last defender and it was right on the edge of the area… so the referee gave the foul and only a yellow card. But VAR corrected the huge mistake and sent off the Catalan defender.

With Barcelona down to ten men and the whole second half still to play, Julián Alvarez put the finishing touch on the move, scoring directly from the free kick with an incredible thunderbolt that gave Atlético the first goal of the match.

Control, scares, and Sørloth’s clincher

In the second half Barça came out pressing hard, and the truth is the team suffered, above all because Lamine Yamal began to fully showcase the brilliance of his talent and caused Atlético all sorts of problems (although the defending of Ruggeri and the defensive support from Marcos Llorente were key to holding on for a clean sheet… the first of the season in the Champions League)

But little by little the team settled down and began to control the match in midfield, albeit with some inaccuracies that created problems at the back. They also created few chances, but one of them was clear: Ruggeri’s pass to Sorloth (who had already come on for Lookman), which led to Atlético’s second goal of the match. It has been a very productive connection throughout the season (including in this Champions League), and Joan García could do nothing about the finish.

But Barça also had chances that tested Musso and Atlético’s defense, especially when the red-and-whites were pushing a little too far forward in attack, and they also protested more out of frustration than anything else over a goal kick in the 54th minute involving Pubill and Musso, with our defender touching the ball with his hand before it had come back into play.

All in all, it was a great result for Atleti, who will have to stay very alert in the return leg if they want to keep dreaming of doing something historic this season… in Europe.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.