BARCELONA, Spain — Julián Álvarez gave Barcelona a glimpse of exactly what they are missing on Wednesday as Atlético Madrid ended a 20-year wait for a win at Camp Nou with a 2-0 victory which moved them within sight of a UEFA Champions League semifinal.
Álvarez opened the scoring in the 45th minute with a stunning free kick after Pau Cubarsí had been sent off for a last-man challenge on Giuliano Simeone outside the box. Substitute Alexander Sørloth added the second with 20 minutes to play to leave Atlético in a commanding position going into next Tuesday’s second leg at the Metropolitano.
The result brought Atlético’s long wait for a win at Camp Nou to an end, while they also became the first away team to win at the refurbished stadium since Barça returned last November. 2006 was the last time Atlético won here. The run since, which had stretched 25 games, began five years before Diego Simeone was appointed as coach. Now Simeone finally has his Camp Nou win — in no small part thanks to his fellow Argentine.
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It was Álvarez’s wonder-strike which did the damage, not least because it came immediately after Cubarsí’s dismissal, handing Barça a double punishment they will feel unfair given the lightness of the center-back’s touch on the darting Simeone. The referee had initially shown Cubarsí a yellow card, but it was upgraded to red after a VAR review.
What came next was special. Álvarez found the top corner from 25 yards, peeling away to celebrate beneath the thousands of Atlético fans shielded by glass in the second tier of Camp Nou. As those in red-and-white celebrated, the home fans would be forgiven for wondering how this game may have panned out if Álvarez was on their side.
Barça are in the market for a No. 9 this summer. Robert Lewandowski is ageing and Ferran Torres is moving into the final year of his contract. Álvarez may well prove too expensive — Atlético would want well over €100 million for him — but he is the Blaugrana’s dream target.
“Julián is in great form,” Atlético teammate Antoine Griezmann said after the game. “He’s got that something extra — and I hope he can take us all the way to the final.”
His goal here was his ninth in the Champions League this season. He also has four assists for a total of 13 goal contributions. Only Kylian Mbappé, with 15, has more in the competition.
It’s not just his goals, though. It’s Álvarez’s energy — something which was missing from Barça’s attack at times in the first half without the injured Raphinha. Marcus Rashford, starting on the left with the Brazilian out, comes alive with the ball at his feet and Lewandowski is clinical in the box, but neither offer the bustle of the Argentine. In the fifth minute, the former Manchester City attacker had already sent Barça a warning, somehow working his way in from the touchline before drawing a save from Joan García.
At the other end, Barça were creating chances in what was the second of three meetings between these two teams in 11 days. The Catalan side won Part I of the trilogy in LaLiga on Saturday, but after losing Part II will need another big win in Part III to keep alive their hopes of winning the Champions League for the first time since 2015.
Rashford had early chances, twice denied by Juan Musso — the second of which he could have done better with — but Lewandowski struggled to get into the game. There were moments of brilliance from Lamine Yamal, but most of them in areas Atlético would not have considered overly dangerous.
The first 20 minutes whizzed by. Ademola Lookman also had a shot deflected over for Atlético, while João Cancelo and Rashford, again, had openings for Barça. When Rashford did eventually score, the flag went up for an offside against Yamal in the build-up.
Musso then saved again from Rashford, who ended the 90 minutes with a game-high seven shots, as a sense of restlessness began to be felt in Camp Nou. Partly because of the lack of an opening goal; partly because of a growing frustration with the match officials.
Atlético captain Koke was eventually booked, but he could have had two more yellows for challenges on Pedri and Yamal, which had irked a Barça fanbase who then saw this match taken away from them on the brink of half-time as Cubarsí took down Simeone for just his second career red card — the other also came in a Champions League knockout game, against Benfica last year. Álvarez did the rest.
Barça coach Hansi Flick twisted at the break. Gavi and Fermín López came on for the near-anonymous Lewandowski and the half-fit Pedri. Those changes did inject energy. Rashford hit the side netting and then saw a free kick tipped over by Musso.
The whistling from the home fans then upped a few notches when they felt aggrieved not to receive a penalty. Musso appeared to take a goal kick, with defender Marc Pubill then placing his hand on the ball and passing it back. Barça were incensed, appealing for handball, but there was no VAR intervention.
“I don’t know what happens in the situation when the goalkeeper starts the game, the defender stops the ball with his hand and then plays again,” Flick said after. “For me, it’s a clear red card, well [a second] yellow [for Pubill] and penalty. [The refereeing team] can explain why it’s not.”
Any hope of getting something from this match then disappeared when Atlético scored a second in the 70th minute. Matteo Ruggeri found space on the left and his cross was converted by Sørloth for a goal which could make all the difference next week.
Still there was more work for Musso to do. He saved from Cancelo and Yamal as Barça ended the game with 18 shots to Atlético’s five, despite playing over half the game with a player less.
“With one player less we [gave] everything, today we were not lucky,” Flick added. “We will fight. It’s not done yet. It’s far away maybe, the semifinal, but we have a chance and we will try.”
Everything will be decided next week in Madrid. “Yes we can,” chanted Barça’s supporters as the players stood in front of them at full-time. Around 20 minutes later, though, all that could be heard were the Atlético fans, not yet allowed to leave the stadium. Álvarez had made sure this was a night to remember for them.
