Barcelona are teetering on the edges of possible elimination from the UEFA Champions League in the quarterfinals, MySportDab reports.
After an impressive 2–1 comeback win over Atletico Madrid at the weekend put them in a strong position for the La Liga title, the Catalan giants have now been shut out at home by the same opponents in the Champions League a few days after, no thanks to Pau Cubarsi first-half red card.
Atletico Madrid had the better of the hosts earlier on, but it was still finely-poised contest with both sides looking dangerous when charging forward on the attack.
The balance of the game finally took a turn in Atletico Madrid’s favor when Barcelona had Pau Cubarsi sent off for a straight red card just a minute before the break.
One of minute after Cubarsi’s red card, Julian Alvarez got Atletico Madrid on the score sheet,. ensuring the Metropolitano-based outfit takes the lead at the interval.
Barcelona put up a stronger showing in the second half, but with a one-man disadvantage, they were finding difficult to tame Atletico Madrid’s counter attacks.
Nevertheless, it was a nervy contest with both sides creating clear cut chances and pressing for the game’s second goal, and it was Atletico Madrid that found success again.
Alexander Sorloth broke the deadlock in the second half, scoring in the 71st minute to make it 2–0 for Atletico Madrid and hand the team a sizeable advantage heading into the second leg.
Barcelona now face a mounting challenge of winning by at least 3–0 in the Metropolitano Stadium next week to qualify for the next round of the competition.
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