Barcelona 0-2 Atletico Madrid result - Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth give Diego Simeone's men advantage in UEFA Champions League quarter-final

Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth brilliantly finished two sucker-punches to give Atletico Madrid a 2-0 advantage over Barcelona in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

Yet it’s a game that will be remembered as much for the actions (or inaction) of referee Istvan Kovacs as he gave a deserved red card to Pau Cubarsi but turned a blind eye to potential ‘second yellow’ offences by visiting players Koke and Marc Pubill - which Barcelona boss Hansi Flick described as ”unbelievable”.

Barcelona dominated the first half, led by Marcus Rashford - starting for the injured Raphinha. The England international had a string of chances and had the ball in the net following selfless work by Lamine Yamal but saw that strike correctly ruled out for offside.

Yamal also shone but was unable to beat stand-in Atletico keeper Juan Musso and Barca were made to pay when Giuliano Simeone was put through on a textbook counter-attack and cleverly cut across Cubarsi, forcing contact with no other defenders covering.

Kovacs initially gave a yellow card for the incident but VAR had little option than to upgrade it to a straight red, and Alvarez rifled the free-kick into the top corner, past Joan Garcia’s despairing dive.

Camp Nou was infuriated moments later when Koke - already on a yellow - hacked down Yamal but escaped unpunished while early in the second half Musso took a goal kick to Pubill inside the six-yard-box and the defender stopped it with his hand and then passed out, in a similar incident to the one that cost Tyrone Mings against Club Brugge in 2024.

Barcelona controlled the game even with the numerical disadvantage and continued to produce opportunities, yet their failure to turn them home was compounded when Matteo Ruggeri broke up the other end of the pitch and crossed to Sorloth, who finished well at an awkward height.

So Atletico Madrid will defend a 2-0 lead at home next week, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, while Barcelona will need to be incisive in the final third to reach the semi-finals.

He handled the ball after a goal kick but placed the ball down then 'took' the goal kick himself. By the letter of the law, Pubill should've been sent off as he had been booked earlier. But the referee gave him a lifeline.

Joe Cole told TNT Sports: "Absolutely [it's a handball offence] as we've seen it before. The ball is in play. There's no pressure on him, so there's no reason for him to get panicky. It's just a lapse in concentration. It should be a penalty.

"Pubill is then on a yellow card already, so he should get sent off. You get your stroke of luck, but I thought the referee was OK tonight as he let things go, but I thought he got this one wrong.

"It happened to Tyrone Mings [against Club Brugge] and we as footballers can do strange things, but the rules are the rules. Barcelona are very unlucky not to have been given a lifeline back into the game." 

It's been a hectic and high-quality week of European football - and it's far from done yet!

FT - Sporting 0-1 Arsenal

FT - Real Madrid 1-2 Bayern Munich

FT - Braga 1-1 Real Betis (Europa League)

FT - Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Liverpool

FT - Barcelona 0-2 Atletico Madrid

20:00 - Porto v Nottingham Forest - live on TNT Sports 1 & HBO Max

20:00 - Bologna v Aston Villa - live on TNT Sports 2 & HBO Max

20:00 - Crystal Palace v Fiorentina - live on TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports Ultimate & HBO Max

20:00 - Freiburg v RC Celta - live on TNT Sports 1 & HBO Max

20:00 - Shakhtar Donetsk v AZ Alkmaar, Mainz - Strasbourg, Rayo Vallecano v AEK Athens - all live on HBO Max

On the red card, Karen Carney said: "This was the turning point in the game. Barcelona were dominant and in control. One bit of madness, a ball over the top, and Curbasi gets caught. There's not a lot he could do. Alvarez did brilliantly in the build up and there was a tangle of legs.

"Alvarez has been linked with Barcelona, and I think he's the most complete centre forward right now in European football. He links up the play, he takes set pieces. He's got it all."

Joe Cole told TNT Sports: "You have to get punished for bad defending, and Curbasi just sleeps for a split second and it's clumsy. I think he's a very good player but I don't think he's cute enough to try to clip his legs and then pretend he didn't mean it.

"Then Simeone has his arms up [appealing for a red card] just like his dad. Imagine playing Monopoly around the Simeones... it would be absolutely ridiculous! I think Manchester City have missed Alvarez ever since he walked out the door. It's a wonderful free-kick and I love watching him play football. He's brilliant."

Barcelona have outshot Atletico Madrid 38-11 (17-5 on target) in the last two games yet lost 3-2 on aggregate and need to overturn a two-goal deficit in the capital next week.

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Barca work the ball to Dani Olmo on the left of the penalty area, it's the last-chance saloon but Olmo's shot flies high over the bar and that is surely their final attack of the game.

Yamal finds Fermin on the left and he lifts in a cross that Ferran Torres can't reach, though was he pushed in the back as he jumped?

He thinks so but the referee disagrees, there will be three minutes of injury time.

How important will this goal be by the end of the second leg?

We jinks between five players in the space of just 10 or 15 yards, but his last touch is a tad heavy and the ball runs to Musso.

Them's been the breaks for the hosts tonight.

A fantastic turn by Solorth scrambles Gerard Martin and the Norwegian wins a corner, though the visitors will surely look to just run the clock now.

Barcelona are continuing to create openings but they're increasingly snatched chances - this time Cancelo wriggles into the penalty area, stays up after contact (which might've been the wrong decision) then fires into the outside of the left post.

Meanwhile Simeone has made his final changes, withdrawing his son and Antoine Griezmann for Nico Gonzalez and Thiago Almada.

"You can hear the Atletico fans with the oles for each pass," says TNT Sports' Lucy Ward. "That goal has just affected the dominance Barcelona had on the ball. Atletico have now settled and it's about keeping a clean sheet."

"Party time high in the Camp Nou gods for the travelling Atleti faithful," writes TNT Sports' Rob Hemingway in Barcelona.

"Spitting anger inside the stadium from the Barca faithful - mostly directed at the referee - has turned the mood even more sour, but a goal in the final 15 minutes must be Barca's target ahead of the second leg.

"Rashford goes off for Fermin Lopez, who has already provided greater set-piece threat - how much will Rashford rue missing those early chances?"

At this stage, heading to the capital with just a one-goal deficit would be a win. Rashford is off - he had a great first-half but hasn't been as impactful after the break - for Ferran Torres and Ronald Araujo replaces Kounde.

On the Sorloth goal, TNT Sports Lucy Ward said: "It's a good ball in from that wide area, and when it comes it, Sorloth had to get to it first. It's a good finish. The big centre forward gets to it first. To be fair to Barcelona, they've tried to attack. It's a big goal. Simeone told his players not to chase the game and to take the moment which came their way."

WOW!!! Atletico Madrid have doubled their lead!

And in absolutely ruthless fashion too. Matteo Ruggeri breaks forwards on the left in a perfect counter-attack, he reaches the by-line and pulls it back for Sorloth who gets in front of his man and with the ball at an awkward height, turns it past Garcia.

That first Rojiblancos win at Camp Nou since 2006 is looking more and more likely.

They are being overrun right now and the subs aren't having any effect.

"If you had just turned this game on now, you wouldn't have thought Barcelona were down to 10 men," says TNT Sports' Lucy Ward. "They are really going for it. Attack is the best form of defence and Atleti are really on the backfoot. The least Atleti must do in this second half is keep a clean sheet."

Yamal is floored but the foul isn't awarded, then Gavi is booked for a challenge which raises the volume a couple more notches in Camp Nou.

Finally, Griezmann further infuriates the crowd by taking over a minute to tie his laces.

It's part of a double-change by Simeone, as Ademola Lookman is also withdrawn. Alexander Sorloth and Alex Baena are on.

The Koke non-second yellow already had the fans livid, then Musso appears to take a goal kick to Pubill inside the six-yard box, but he puts his hand on the ball and takes the goal kick himself.

We saw Tyrone Mings get penalised for that in 2024 against Club Brugge but this time The Mattress Makers survive.