Atletico beat 10-man Barca in Champions League quarter-final first leg
Baku, April 9, AZERTAC
Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth's goals earned Atletico Madrid a commanding 2-0 lead over 10-man Barcelona in a tense Champions League quarter-final first leg clash, according to beIN Sports.
The La Liga leaders were on top in the all-Spanish tie at Camp Nou before Pau Cubarsi was sent off for bringing down Atletico's Giuliano Simeone, who was through on goal.
Alvarez whipped home the free-kick and Sorloth doubled their advantage with 20 minutes remaining to give Atletico a strong chance of reaching the semi-finals.
Diego Simeone's side, who have never won the competition, reached the 2014 and 2016 finals but were beaten by rivals Real Madrid on both occasions.
Barca, semi-finalists last season, need to make a huge comeback next Tuesday in Madrid if they are to stand a chance of lifting the trophy they last won in 2015.
Atletico knocked Barca out of the Copa del Rey in the semi-finals in March and this was the second of three meetings between the sides in a space of a fortnight.
Paris Saint-Germain will take a deserved lead to Anfield for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie following a 2-0 victory over Liverpool on Wednesday.
PSG have won eight of their last 10 Champions League games against English sides (D1 L1), as many as they had in their first 27 in the competition (D7 L12), and their latest victory over Premier League opposition was supremely comprehensive.
They finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.2 from their 18 shots, compared to Liverpool's measly 0.18 from three attempts. It was the first time since facing Atalanta in November 2020 that the Reds failed to have a shot on target in a Champions League match.
In addition, Liverpool have now lost three consecutive matches in all competitions for the third time this season. It is the first time they have had 3+ runs of 3+ consecutive defeats in a campaign since 1953-54, when they were relegated from the top flight.
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