Barcelona overcame a tough start to defeat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Camp Nou. An early goal from Fernando Torres, who was then sent off for two bookable offenses, gave Atletico the lead, but a brace from Luis Suarez handed the Catalans a slight advantage going into the second leg.
The match got off to a fiery start, with both teams thudding into tackles, as the teams looked to probe in search of creating goalscoring chances. The first couple of chances in the match fell to Barcelona’s talisman, Lionel Messi, who dragged his left-footed attempt wide from just outside the box.
He then had another chance after Jordi Alba saved the ball from going out of play and out a lovely ball in, but the Argentine’s volley flew way wide. The best chance of the half for the Blaugrana fell to Neymar, but he fluffed his chance, putting his free header over the bar when unmarked in the box.
Atletico then took the lead against the run of play, as Fernando Torres was put through on goal by Koke’s beautiful pass, who split the Catalan defence and slotted the ball calmly through Marc Andre ter Stegen’s legs. The Spaniard then almost teed up Antoine Griezmann for the second, but the Frenchman’s shot was poked away by Ter Stegen on the stretch.
Torres then brought his Mr Hyde out, getting sent off for two quick yellow cards, both which came as a result of bad tackles, the first on Neymar and the second on Sergio Busquets.
The second half saw Atletico get out of the blocks quickly, as they tried to get an early second goal, but Carrasco’s ball was just a little too heavy for the onrushing Griezmann. Immediately after that, Barcelona countered, and the ball fell to Messi in the box. He controlled it, setting himself up for a bicycle kick, which went just wide.
As the Rojiblancos put all 9 outfielders behind the ball, Barcelona queued around the box, trying to create as many goalscoring chances as possible. The Brazilian Neymar created space to let rip from just inside the box, but saw his shot ricochet off the crossbar. He then headed straight at Jan Oblak in the Atletico goal when it was easier to score.
The Catalans then got their equaliser through Luis Suarez in the 63rd minute, as he deflected Alba's mishit shot off Dani Alves’ cross into the net. It was the Uruguayan who did the trick for the Luis Enrique-managed side, as he powered a strong header past Oblak in the 74th minute, giving Barcelona the lead.
Atletico managed to hold on without conceding the rest of the way despite Barca's complete dominance. The final whistle saw Barcelona take a 2-1 lead into the away leg. Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone will be happy with his team's performance, having gotten the crucial away goal.
Bayern Munich 1-0 Benfica
German giants Bayern Munich will take a 1-0 advantage into the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Benfica. Playing at home, the Bavarians scored through Chilean international Arturo Vidal, who headed home from Juan Bernat's cross on the left.
The first half also saw chances for Douglas Costa and Thomas Muller, the former hitting his shot straight at Ederson in the Benfica goal, while Muller's shot was saved well by Ederson.
Benfica had a couple of great chances to equalise in the second half, first through striker Jonas, who hit his shot straight at Javi Martinez, and then put the rebound way over the bar. Then, a free-kick saw a good ball put into the Bayern penalty box, but both Gaitan and Victor Lindelof failed to make contact with the ball.
Though Bayern created a lot of chances, their profligacy in front of goal, Robert Lewandowski being the main culprit, ensured that they go to the second leg with a dangerous lead of only one goal.
