At a glance
- FC Barcelona lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid in a Champions League quarterfinal first leg tie on Wednesday.
- The first half looked set to finish goalless, until Pau Cubarsi’s red card changed the course of the match with Julian Alvarez scoring the resulting free kick.
- On Thursday morning, Cubarsi addressed the incident on social media.
FC Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi assumed full responsibility for his red card against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League via a social media post on Thursday morning.
The Catalans looked set to finish the first half of the quarterfinal first leg goalless, with Marcus Rashford having a strike ruled offside.
On one break, however, Cubarsi brought Giuliano Simeone down on the edge of the box and had his yellow card turned into a straight red after the referee consulted VAR.
Barca transfer target Julian Alvarez smashed home the resulting free kick and Alexander Sorloth doubled the Rojiblancos’ lead on 70 minutes.
This left Hansi Flick’s men with a mountain to climb at the Metropolitano. And while Ronald Araujo has already issued a remontada war cry, Cubarsi offered his apologies online.
Cubarsi takes the blame for Barcelona Vs. Atletico Madrid result
Owning up to the setback like the 19-year-old veteran he is, Cubarsi addressed the matter to his 5.5 million followers on Instagram.
“An action conditions the match and the knockout tie. That’s football and I take responsibility for the result,” Cubarsi wrote.
“There’s still a long way to go in this two-legged tie, and we are more united than ever. We are a family and we’ve always shown it. Forward, with effort and determination, we will never give up,” he then signed off.
How will Flick field his defence in Barcelona Vs. Atletico Madrid second leg
Without Cubarsi at his disposal, Barca head coach Hansi Flick needs to rethink his back line.
Eric Garcia could immediately slot in to partner Gerard Martin, but injuries or comeback and freshness concerns for Marc Bernal and Frenkie de Jong raise doubts about the pivot position.
Araujo could also slot in at the heart of the back line, but he, Eric or Jules Kounde seem to be the only options Flick has if he doesn’t do something radical like play a back three.
