At a glance
- FC Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in a Champions League quarterfinal second leg at the Metropolitano on Tuesday.
- After having lost the first leg 2-0, however, Barca’s goals weren’t enough to advance.
- The quest continues for a first Champions League crown since 2015.
FC Barcelona once again tasted heartbreaking defeat on the continent on Tuesday night.
Here are some talking points from the 2-1 second leg win but 3-2 aggregate Champions League quarterfinal loss to Atletico Madrid.
Lamine Yamal was up for the fight for Barcelona
Promising big things in his prematch press conference, the teenager took the bull by the horns in the Metropolitano. Scoring inside five minutes, Lamine helped Barca equal the score 2-2 midway through the first half.
Ultimately he couldn’t deliver the strike that levelled the tie overall. But his nine dribbles and three shots, giving him a near perfect 9.8 rating on WhoScored? is a valiant effort.
Pedri didn’t need 90 minutes in Barcelona Vs. Espanyol
Was it really necessary for the number 8 to play a full game against a winless in 2026 Espanyol on Saturday?
Pedri looked fatigued in the Metropolitano, and Atleti cleverly suffocated him with groups of three or four men every time Barca’s playmaker received the ball.
Of course he was still clinical with 94% accuracy on 111 completed passes according to Whoscored?. Yet being dispossessed three times wasn’t ideal, and Pedri appeared fatigued missing his usual marathon runner-esque athleticism.
Barcelona felt Raphinha’s absence
Arguably Flick’s best player in the 2024/2025 campaign that led to a semifinal loss against Inter Milan, Barca missed the competition’s joint-top scorer (13) and all-time goal involvements (22) provider.
Raphinha is sidelined thanks to a thigh injury, and is now looking at a possible three-match ban next term thanks to post-match criticisms of the refereeing at the Metropolitano.
In his absence, neither Marcus Rashford or Fermin Lopez managed to live up to the demands of the operation.
Barcelona can’t complain about officiating
Granted Dani Olmo should’ve been awarded a penalty after being pushed by Marcos Llorente. But Barca sealed their own fate by the CAM, Fermin and Araujo all missing big chances. This can’t happen on this stage.
Barcelona have regressed in the Champions League
It’s easy to see to conclude that reaching the semifinals this season and only the quarters this one is a backwards step.
Yet it feels that the Blaugrana were stronger on the whole in 2024/2025 on the continent. Though they have a better goalkeeper now, the defence is worse.
Joan Garcia leading La Liga in clean sheets (12) this term but failing to keep a single one in Europe is unacceptable.
Furthermore, this campaign lacked big scalps like Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund (twice) and Benfica (twice). Against big opposition, Barca lost to holders Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Atletico.
