Atletico Madrid celebrating their victory against Barcelona
Atletico Madrid now have the upper hand in this Champions League quarter-final after a 2-0 win over FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona actually started well.
They had the ball, moved it around nicely and looked the more likely side early on.
Lamine Yamal stood out, always asking questions and trying to make something happen.
Marcus Rashford was also lively. He made a few sharp runs in behind and at one point thought he had given Barcelona the lead, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside.
But even with those moments, it didn’t lead to much.
They got into good areas, but the final pass or finish just wasn’t there.
Even before the red card, you could see that they weren’t really hurting Atletico.
Then the game flipped.
Pau Cubarsí was sent off in the 43rd minute, and that changed everything.
There’s been some talk about the decision; some think it was harsh, others feel it was the right call.
Atletico didn’t waste time.
In the 45th minute, Julian Alvarez stepped up and curled in a free-kick to make it 1-0 just before the break.
Barcelona still tried in the second half, even with ten men.
Marcus Rashford kept pushing and was one of the few outlets, but again, nothing really clear came from it.
Atletico stayed organised and waited.
The second goal came in the 70th minute. Alexander Sorloth finished off a quick counter to make it 2-0.
That pretty much settled it.
Barcelona were not poor, but they didn’t do enough with the ball.
Atletico did what they needed to do and took their chances.
The second leg is still to come, but Barcelona now have a lot to sort out. Atlético, on their part, will be satisfied with this.
