Who: Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona What: Champions League quarterfinal, second leg Where: Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain When: Tuesday at 9pm ( ) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from in advance of our live text commentary stream. Spanish football clubs Atletico Madrid and Barcelona will meet for the third time in 10 days but, crucially, with a UEFA Champions League (UCL) semifinal berth on the line. Atletico may be far behind their Catalan opponents in the La Liga title race, but they go into Tuesday’s fixture as strong favourites, thanks to a first-leg victory against 10-man Barcelona at Camp Nou, and a strong home form in Europe this season.
Barcelona, the reigning La Liga champions, will have it all to do if they are to keep alive their dream of clinching their sixth UCL trophy, and first since the 2014–2015 season. Here is all to know before the knockout tie: Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth scored in each half as Atletico earned a precious 2-0 lead in a tense first-leg clash. The La Liga leaders were on top in the first half before Pau Cubarsi was sent off for bringing down Atletico’s Giuliano Simeone, who was through on goal.
Alvarez whipped home the free kick at the stroke of halftime, and Sorloth doubled their advantage in the 70th minute to give Atletico a strong chance of reaching the semifinals. Barcelona thrashed crosstown rivals Espanyol 4-1 on Saturday, taking a major step towards retaining their La Liga title as they moved nine points clear of rivals Real Madrid, who are second. Ferran Torres struck twice, assisted by Lamine Yamal both times, first with a header from a corner in the 10th minute before doubling the lead in the 25th, racing clear from another Yamal pass.
Espanyol pulled one back in the 56th minute when Pol Lozano fired in a rebound from just inside the box. But Yamal restored control in the 87th on a quick counter, with Marcus Rashford adding a fourth from Frenkie de Jong’s cross. Barca moved to 79 points with seven games left.
Coach Diego Simeone rotated heavily for his team’s visit to face Sevilla to keep players fresh, as Atletico fell to a 2-1 defeat. Akor Adams sent the hosts ahead from the penalty spot, and after 20-year-old Atletico reserve defender Javier Bonar levelled, Nemanja Gudelj struck again for Sevilla before the interval. Atletico are fourth in the league standings with 57 points, four points behind third-placed Villarreal.
Diego Simeone’s side have never won the competition. They reached the final in 2014 and 2016, but were beaten by city rivals Real on both occasions. Barcelona stormed into the quarterfinals with an emphatic 8-3 aggregate win over Newcastle United.
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