Julian Alvarez’s stunning free-kick goal leads Atletico Madrid to 2-0 win over Barcelona in UCL quarterfinal

That’s the end of our live blog, with Atletico Madrid securing a great 2-0 win over FC Barcelona away. See you next time!

Atletico Madrid secure a huge 2-0 win against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou, with Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth as the goalscorers of the night.

In the last play of the game, Olmo cut inside to unleash a shot that went straight to the stands.

Three minutes of stoppage time have been added to the second half!

As the last substitution for the Blaugrana, Joao Cancelo leaves the pitch replaced by Alejandro Balde.

After a mesmerizing run into the box where he danced past several defenders, Lamine Yamal was unable to pull the trigger; the ball was smothered by Musso before the youngster could get his shot away.

Antoine Griezmann and Giuliano Simeone exit the pitch, leaving their place to Thiago Almada and Nicolas Gonzalez.

Simeone was dispossessed in the box by Fermin Lopez, allowing the ball to fall to Cancelo; he tried his luck with a stinging shot, but once again, the Argentine goalkeeper was there to make the save.

Following Atletico's second, Barcelona opted for another double change: Jules Kounde and Marcus Rashford made way for Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres.

Following a patient build-up, Atletico Madrid found an opening on the left flank where Ruggeri, latching onto a brilliant pass from Griezmann, delivered a pinpoint cross for Sorloth to slot home and double the lead for the visitors.

In an action mirroring Baena's, Gavi picks up a yellow card after hauling down Griezmann to halt the Frenchman's progress.

After halting Dani Olmo's progress with a tactical foul, Alex Baena is shown a yellow card just minutes after entering the match.

Diego Simeone makes his first two moves for the visitors: Alex Baena and Alexander Sorloth enter the fray, while Ademola Lookman and Koke make way.

A piercing cross from Yamal nearly found Kounde and Gavi for the equalizer, but neither player could get a clean enough touch to turn it home.

Despite being one man down, Barcelona are still pushing for the equalizer.

Rashford stepped up to take the free kick following a foul on Yamal, trying to whip the ball into the second post. The Englishman unleashed a fierce shot, but the keeper managed to get his fingertips to it to turn it away.

With Barcelona continuing to build from the back, Lamine Yamal played a brilliant trivela pass to find Rashford. The forward took a touch and dribbled past Musso, but his resulting shot rolled agonizingly wide of the net.

Referee Istvan Kovacs blows the whistle, and the second half is underway!

Hansi Flick makes two substitutions at the half: Fermin Lopez and Gavi enter the match, while Robert Lewandowski and Pedri head to the bench.

Atletico Madrid hold a 1-0 lead over Barcelona at the Camp Nou after the first 45 minutes.

After a blow to the face of Robert Lewandowski, Marc Pubill is shown a yellow card by the referee.

Four minutes of stoppage time have been added.

Julian Alvarez stepped up to take the free kick following Cubarsi's red card and, with a clinical finish, curled a strike into the top right corner to break the deadlock.

After VAR review, the referee determines that Cubarsi denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity against the last man Giuliano Simeone, and upgrades the card from yellow to red.

In a controversial decision, Pau Cubarsi sees the yellow card after a foul over Giuliano Simeone.

After a promising start, Atletico are finding it difficult to create clear-cut opportunities, evidenced by a Giuliano Simeone cross that sailed directly to the stands.

Unable to continue the game due to injury, David Hancko has been forced off and is replaced by Marc Pubill.

After a foul over Dani Olmo, Koke sees the first yellow card for Atletico Madrid.

As Alvarez turned the ball over, Barcelona launched a blistering counterattack with Olmo delivering a dangerous cross for Rashford to get a touch on, but Musso showed great reflexes to come up with another big save.

After a brief protest to referee Istvan Kovacs, Pedri is shown the first yellow card of the game for Barcelona.

The game is currently at a standstill as Atletico defender David Hancko has gone down, prompting a call for the medical staff to come out and assess the situation.

Despite dominating possession, Barcelona are still struggling to find a way through a well-organized Atletico defense that has yet to leave any openings for an opener.

After a perfectly weighted through ball from Pedri, Yamal delivered a cross for Rashford to tuck away the opener, but the 18-year-old star was caught just inches offside.

In a patient build-up play, Kounde delivered a cross to the left side for Rashford to strike it first time, but his effort went agonizingly wide of the Atletico goal.

With the action concentrated on the left side, it was Joao Cancelo’s turn to test the keeper, but his shot went straight into the waiting hands of Musso.

After pressing high and recovering the ball, Julian Alvarez went on an impressive solo run before letting fly with a left-footed shot that was easily gathered by Joan Garcia.

Following a stray pass during Atletico’s build-up, Barcelona recovered the ball to gift Rashford a golden opportunity, but Musso came up big again with another great save.

Receiving the ball on the left wing, Marcus Rashford cut inside to unleash a shot, but his effort went straight into the hands of Juan Musso.

Referee Istvan Kovacs blows his whistle, and the game between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid is underway.

Lamine Yamal is expected to be the center of attention tonight, especially after his last outing where he left the pitch visibly frustrated. However, the young star must play with caution; a yellow card in today’s match would trigger an automatic one-game suspension, forcing him to miss the crucial second leg at the Air Riyadh Metropolitano.

Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, and Fermin Lopez also enter the match on a yellow card warning, meaning a booking for any of them would result in a suspension for the following leg.

Istvan Kovacs will take charge of the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

The 41-year-old Romanian has an interesting record with both sides, having overseen two Barcelona matches that ended in a draw and a defeat, while Atletico have fared even worse under his watch, losing four of the five games he has refereed them in, with one draw. Notably, neither Spanish side has managed a win with Kovacs in charge.

Match officials:

Referee: Istvan Kovacs
1st Assistant: Mihai Marica
2nd Assistant: Ferencz Tunyogi
Fourth Official: Szabolcs Kovacs
VAR: Christian Dingert
VAR assistant: Tiago Martins

Flick has already made notable adjustments to his starting lineup, most visibly by restoring Robert Lewandowski as the lead striker ahead of Fermín López, but the absences go beyond tactical choices.

The most significant loss is Raphinha, who will not be available for either leg of this tie after picking up an injury while on international duty with Brazil during the March break. Marcus Rashford has been handed the start in his place.

Frenkie de Jong and Marc Bernal are also sidelined, leaving Flick with another problem to solve in midfield. Pedri will fill one of the vacant spots, while Eric García has been converted from center back into a holding midfielder to cover the other.

With key changes compared to the last game on Saturday, coach Diego Simeone confirmed Atletico's starting lineup (4-4-2): Juan Musso; Nahuel Molina, Robin Le Normand, David Hancko, Matteo Ruggeri; Giuliano Simeone, Koke, Marcos Llorente, Ademola Lookman; Antoine Griezmann, Julian Alvarez.

Coach Hansi Flick confirmed the eleven players that'll be facing Atletico Madrid from the start (4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia; Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, Joao Cancelo; Eric Garcia, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Marcus Rashford; Robert Lewandowski.

The game between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will kick off at 3 PM (ET).

You can watch the UEFA Champions League live on Paramount+, DAZN and ViX.

Welcome to our live blog for the first leg of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Stay with us for key updates and live minute-by-minute coverage!