Three takeaways from Barcelona 0-2 Atletico Madrid | OneFootball

Barcelona’s plan of securing a lead in the fixture against Atletico Madrid last night went down the drain, and in an unexpected manner, as they fell to a 0-2 loss at home.

Despite dominating the early phase of the game, the Catalans were soon down to ten men after Pau Cubarsi was sent off for a professional last-man foul, leaving them with a numerical disadvantage.

A wonderful free-kick from Julian Alvarez and a goal from Alexander Sorloth against the run of play then handed the visitors a two-goal cushion, one that they defended up until the very end.

The defeat in the first leg dealt Barcelona a massive blow in their UEFA Champions League hopes, and the second leg now presents a challenge that is easier said than done.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Barcelona 0-2 Atletico Madrid.

Their own worst enemies

Year after year, Barcelona find the UEFA Champions League to be a competition that is difficult to conquer, but in the end, they always have just themselves to blame.

In a competition that is decided by moments, the Blaugrana always find a way to deal themselves a blow or provide a negative moment that changes the course of the game.

Once again last night, the same events transpired at the Spotify Camp Nou as they were reduced to ten men towards the end of the first half. Atletico Madrid then scored off the resulting free-kick, leaving them in the worst possible scenario.

On this occasion, it was Pau Cubarsi who made the massive blunder and was sent off, leaving the team to fend off with ten men for over 45 minutes and ensuring that he could not play the second leg.

Up until that point, Barcelona were in the driving seat, creating the better chances and looked set to win. While they did create openings later too, it is clear that the numerical disadvantage negated any home advantage they had.

What’s worse is that this is just the latest such situation in the UEFA Champions League, for the Catalans find a way to do this to themselves year after year.

Obnoxious refereeing

Pubill’s handball inside the box was overlooked by the referee. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Whether or not Pau Cubarsi deserved the red card last night is debatable, but there is not enough to call the decision wrong. Beyond that game-changing decision, however, there were several decisions that simply cannot be explained.

Barcelona have been at the receiving end of refereeing errors for far too long, and the same situation persisted last night as the match official turned a blind eye to Atletico Madrid’s errors time and time again.

For starters, the Cubarsi situation should have been reviewed with more caution, given how it directly affected the flow of the game. 

Beyond that, Koke was pardoned far too many times despite being on a yellow card and should have gotten a second yellow on at least two occasions.

The worst of them all was the decision around Marc Pubill, who touched the ball in play with his hands inside his own box.

The player was already on a yellow card, and had the situation been reviewed or had VAR intervened, not only would Barcelona have earned an undeniable penalty, but the player would have been sent off as well.

Not only did the referee turn a blind eye to the situation, but even VAR did not look into the matter despite strong protests from the Barcelona players. At some point, one is forced to ask why Barcelona always end up with the controversial decisions going against them.

An uphill task

Two goals down after the home leg, Barcelona are in serious trouble in the UEFA Champions League and may well face the end of the road soon.

The plan was always to secure a decisive lead at home and enter the Riyadh Air Metropolitano with a cushion. Now, they will enter the second leg two goals down and as the away side.

There is indeed reason to be optimistic if one wants to focus on the silver lining. After all, Barcelona did dominate Atletico Madrid and create good chances even with just ten men, and it is clear that they are the better side.

What makes the prognosis poor, however, is the fact that Atletico Madrid will now sit deep in their box to defend the lead they have, and they are the best in the business at that.

Barcelona struggled to score three goals against them in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal and required a full-strength team playing with every ounce of energy to secure that result.

Heading into the second leg without Pau Cubarsi, Raphinha, and possibly Pedri, it will be an uphill task for them to pull off a comeback.