Requiring another remontada to save their Champions League bacon, Barcelona head to the Spanish capital for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg with La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid.
The 10-man Blaugrana were stunned 2-0 at home by Diego Simeone’s troops in the first leg, as Los Rojiblancos put one foot in a semi-final with either Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon.
Match preview
The favourites tag perhaps weighed too heavily on Barcelona’s shoulders in last Wednesday’s first leg, although Hansi Flick’s formerly free-scoring side were not aided by inexperienced defender Pau Cubarsi taking the walk of shame for a last-man foul in the 44th minute.
Atletico immediately capitalised through a sublime Julian Alvarez free kick, before elite marksman Alexander Sorloth struck his sixth Champions League goal of the campaign to silence the majority of the 59,000-strong Camp Nou crowd.
Fans could have been forgiven for writing Los Rojiblancos off before the first whistle had blown, as Simeone’s men entered the first leg on the back of a three-game losing run in all tournaments – the third of which was a 2-1 league reverse to none other than Barcelona.
A fourth defeat in five arrived at the weekend as Atletico went down 2-1 to Sevillabut few will take that loss at face value, as Simeone made no fewer than 10 changes with the second leg in mind; only goalkeeper Juan Musso held his spot.
Furthermore, the hosts had won six matches on the spin at the Wanda Metropolitano before their recent league loss to Barcelona, and Simeone’s side have only failed to score in one home game all season – February’s 1-0 loss to Real Betis.
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However, the last time Atletico won the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final – back in the 2023-24 season against Borussia Dortmund – Simeone’s troops capitulated in the second and were ultimately knocked out, giving Barca one crumb of comfort to cling onto.
Cubarsi’s first-half red card left La Blaugrana with a mountain to climb at Camp Nou, though, and Flick’s charges are now facing an even bigger uphill struggle to keep their Champions League dream alive, even if the form book is on their side.
Barcelona consigned the first leg to history with a 4-1 battering of city rivals Espanyol on Saturday, a day when Lamine Yamal became the youngest player in history to reach 100 La Liga appearances and marked the occasion with a goal and two assists.
The top-flight crown should soon be a formality for Barcelona, who lie nine points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga tableso it is not inaccurate to suggest that Tuesday’s match is the visitors’ biggest game of the season so far.
While Barca did best Atletico in Madrid earlier this month, February’s 4-0 drubbing in the Copa del Rey may still be lingering in the minds of Flick’s travellers, whose attack must be as ruthless as ever if a colossal comeback is to unfold.
Atletico Madrid Champions League form:
Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):
Barcelona Champions League form:
Barcelona form (all competitions):
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Atletico’s statement first-leg victory did come at a cost defensively, as David Hancko came off early with an ankle injury, and his replacement – Marc Pubill – picked up a suspension-inducing yellow card.
Hancko remains a major doubt for Tuesday’s clash alongside Jose Gimenez (discomfort), Johnny Cardoso (adductor) and Pablo Barrios (thigh), but Simeone is hopeful of having number one Jan Oblak back from an abdominal issue.
Should neither Hancko nor Gimenez make the cut, ex-Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet will be the next best thing in defence, but Simeone can at least promote a plethora of well-rested first-teamers back to the XI.
From former Blaugrana centre-backs to current Blaugrana centre-backs, Cubarsi will also sit on the naughty step for this one after his dismissal last week, so Ronald Araujo or Eric Garcia – if Frenkie de Jong is fit enough to start in midfield – should cover here.
The visitors did lose Gerard Martin to discomfort at half time against Espanyol, but Flick immediately played down the severity of 24-year-old’s issue and expects him to be fit for the midweek game.
Marc Bernal (ankle) might be in the same boat, but his condition will be assessed closer to the time, while Raphinha (hamstring) and Andreas Christensen (ACL) are definitely absent.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Musso; Molina, Lenglet, Le Normand, Ruggeri; Simeone, Llorente, Koke, Lookman; Griezmann, Alvarez
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
J. Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, E. Garcia, Cancelo; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Rashford; Torres
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-2 Barcelona (Atletico win 4-2 on aggregate)
The Atletico defensive masters of yesteryear do not make frequent appearances anymore, but this Simeone side are more adept at fighting fire with fire, especially with a team of well-rested regulars.
Barcelona will find the back of the net if they can keep the second leg 11v11, but Atletico can bite back just as hard on home territory to book a long-awaited semi-final ticket.
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