At a glance
- Pau Cubarsi received a red card for FC Barcelona in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg clash with Atletico Madrid.
- Barcelona transfer target Julian Alvarez immediately smashed in the resulting free kick.
- Hansi Flick’s men will now play the second half with 10 men and Cubarsi suspended for the second leg.
FC Barcelona had a nightmare end to the first half of their Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Atletico Madrid.
It all started when Marcus Rashford scored in an offside position after connecting well with Lamine Yamal and hitting home from close range past Juan Musso.
This proved a sign of bad things to come for the Blaugrana, however, as Pau Cubarsi brought Guiliano Simeone down near Joan Garcia’s area on the stroke of half time.
Istvan Kovacs initially gave the number 5 a yellow, but then went to consult his monitors and returned to brandish a red.
Barcelona Vs. Atletico Madrid went from bad to worse for Culers
As ReadBarcelona watched on from the press box, Cubarsi received a standing ovation from the crowd in the Spotify Camp Nou.
But the worst was yet to come. Barcelona target Julian Alvarez smashed the resulting free kick home on exactly 45 minutes and sent the Atleti away end into raptures.
Travelling Colchoneros continued singing through most of the interval, and Barca were left with a mountain to climb in the second half.
It could be a case of damage limitation, and trying not to conceded any more goals from Atleti’s slick counter attacks ahead of the second leg. That will of course be played without Cubarsi, who’ll be unable to partner Gerard Martin.
One thing is for sure, Barca once more failed to keep a clean sheet in the Champions League making that nine failed failed attempts in 2025/2026.
For the second half, Flick made some tactical changes by taking Robert Lewandowski and Pedri off. Gavi occupied centre midfield with moving Rashford up front.
Fermin Lopez entered on the left wing, and Eric Garcia moved to the back line to form a trio with Jules Kounde and Gerard Martin.
