The first leg of the Champions League quarter-final between FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid has produced its first major storyline — one in which the hosts were punished twice over.
Shortly before half-time, Barça’s Pau Cubarsí could only stop his opponent Giuliano Simeone with a foul right on the edge of the box. The problem? Cubarsí was the last man and, after a VAR review, was sent off. The second problem from the hosts’ point of view?
Atlético have a gifted free-kick taker in Julián Álvarez. The 26-year-old struck the ball perfectly into the top-right corner from just over 20 metres out, giving his team a 1-0 lead at half-time (45′). A bitter blow for the Catalans, who had clearly been in control of the match beforehand.
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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.