At a glance
- FC Barcelona lost their Champions League quarterfinal to Atletico Madrid by an aggregate score of 3-2 on Tuesday.
- The remontada looked to be in full flow when Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres but Barca 2-0 ahead in the second leg to cancel out Atleti’s win by that score in the first.
- Yet the Catalans were unable to level again after Ademola Lookman pulled one back.
FC Barcelona playmaker Pedri has demanded that his club’s “sadness has to transform into joys in the future”.
The Catalans are once again eliminated from the Champions League after falling to an Atletico Madrid outfit 3-2 on aggregate.
Barca looked to be on their way to pulling off a remontada for the ages by going 2-0 ahead within 24 minutes.
This meant an all square score after Atleti won by the same margin at the Spotify Camp Nou last week. Yet Ademola Lookman pulled one back around the half hour mark and Barca couldn’t tie which spelled another painful KO.
On social media, Pedri said: “No matter how much you try and wish for it, things aren’t always the way you want them to be”.
“Today it’s time to learn from defeat, to know what we have and what we can improve. That has to be the strength for the future, to win the Champions League in the coming years. We’re not satisfied with what we’ve achieved. This sadness has to transform into joys in the future,” he demanded.
Pedri couldn’t play his usual game in the Metropolitano
It should be less about criticising the number 8 for not managing to provide an assist that led to another equaliser, and more complimenting Atleti for the excellent job they did suffocating Pedri.
Everytime the Tenerife native received the ball, he was immediately surrounded by a bunch of Rojiblanco shirts. They gave him little room to maneuver, and pull off his usual twists and turns.
Still, 94% accuracy on 104 passes is a top performance for most. But this is Pedri. And getting dispossessed three times spells a defensive midfield masterclass for the likes of Koke and Marcos Lllorente.
Focus must now turn to the league. What look to be three La Liga titles in four years is already making Pedri a modern day legend of the club he supported as a kid.
To truly become a Blaugrana icon, however, he and fellow youngsters such as Lamine Yamal know they must bring the big one back to Catalonia.
The UCL final will be held at the Metropolitano in 2027. What better way to achieve vengeance and overcome this heartache than finally do the job there.
