Overview
Perhaps the pressure from being considered a championship contender weighed heavily on Barcelona's shoulders in the first leg last week. Hansi Flick's team was at a disadvantage when center-back Pau Cubarsi had to leave the field in the 44th minute.
Atletico Madrid immediately took advantage of the opportunity with a beautiful free kick from Julian Alvarez, before striker Alexander Sorloth scored his sixth goal in the Champions League this season.
Fans can completely doubt Los Rojiblancos even before the opening whistle sounded, because Diego Simeone's team entered the first leg with a series of 3 consecutive defeats in all competitions. In which the third defeat was a 1-2 defeat to Barcelona in the domestic league.
The fourth defeat in the last 5 matches came at the weekend when Atletico lost 1-2 to Sevilla, but few people consider that defeat to reflect reality. Simeone made up to 10 changes to prepare for the second leg. Only goalkeeper Juan Musso kept his position in the main squad.
Moreover, the home team has won 6 consecutive matches at Wanda Metropolitano stadium before the recent defeat to Barcelona in the tournament. And Simeone's team only did not score in one home match this season - the 0-1 defeat to Real Betis in February.
However, the last time Atletico won the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals - the 2023-2024 season against Borussia Dortmund - they collapsed in the second leg and were eventually eliminated, giving Barca a little consolation to cling to.
Cubarsi's red card in the first half has put Blaugrana facing an extremely difficult challenge at Camp Nou. Flick's army is now facing an even more fierce battle to maintain their UEFA Champions League dream.
Barcelona regained their spirit with a 4-1 victory over their city rival Espanyol. Lamine Yamal became the youngest player in history to reach the milestone of 100 appearances in La Liga and marked this event with one goal and two assists.
The La Liga championship is almost certain to belong to Barcelona, as they are leading the table with 9 points more than Real Madrid. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that the upcoming match is the most important match for the away team this season to date.
Although Barca defeated Atletico in Madrid earlier this month, the disastrous 0-4 defeat in Copa del Rey in February may still haunt Flick's students' minds. Their attack needs to be sharper than ever if they want to create a spectacular comeback.
Personnel situation
Atletico Madrid's convincing victory in the first leg had to pay the price when David Hancko left the field early due to an ankle injury. Hancko is still uncertain whether he can play in the next match, along with the cases of Jose Gimenez, Johnny Cardoso and Pablo Barrios.
If both Hancko and Gimenez are not called up, former Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet will be the choice in defense. However, Simeone can at least bring a series of first team players who have been fully rested back to the main squad.
On the other side, Pau Cubarsi will also have to sit out due to a penalty after being sent off last week. Ronald Araujo or Eric Garcia will be suitable choices.
The away team lost Gerard Martin due to a minor injury in the first half of the match against Espanyol, but Flick still hopes he will recover in time to play in the next match.
Expected lineup:
Atletico Madrid: Musso, Molina, Lenglet, Le Normand, Ruggeri, Simeone, Llorente, Koke, Lookman, Griezmann, Alvarez.
Barcelona: J. Garcia, Kounde, Araujo, E. Garcia, Cancelo, Pedri, De Jong, Yamal, Lopez, Rashford, Torres.
The match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona takes place at 2:00 a.m. on April 15 (Vietnam time).
