Atletico Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-0 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. A very positive result for the "Rojiblancos".
Diego Simeone's team displayed sharp finishing to leave Camp Nou with a two-goal lead, thanks to their opponents being reduced to 10 men after Pau Cubarsi was sent off at the end of the first half.
This victory also bore the mark of referee Istvan Kovacs and the VAR team, who overlooked Marc Pubill's handling of the ball in the penalty area after goalkeeper Juan Musso's clearance.
Simeone defended his player and emphasized that the referee's decision was correct. According to the Argentinian strategist, Musso passed the ball to Pubill, who then initiated the kick-off.
“That makes sense,” Simeone responded in the press conference. “Marc received the pass to start the play, the referee understood the situation the same way he did.”
This victory, in addition to giving Atletico the upper hand in the race for the win, also ended Simeone's curse whenever he faced Barcelona at Camp Nou.
For the first time in 14 years, after 11 defeats and 7 draws, "El Cholo" left Camp Nou with a victory.
"I'm not the only one who has had the honor of winning here; very few coaches have achieved that," Simeone stated.
"We played with great intensity, and I'm pleased with the players' efforts. We've changed a lot of players over the years."
Adapting to the level the club needs to reach is not easy. With humility, we know that the home game will be very difficult.”
Atletico only had 3 shots on target to lead 2-0 against Barca. “I could tell you a thousand stories about games where we took 30 shots and still didn’t score.”
Football is great because accurate finishing is key. There are nights we are extremely effective in finishing, and there are nights we are not.”
When asked about the advantage, Simeone humbly replied: "No, we don't have every chance to reach the semi-finals."
We are humble enough to admit they are very strong, but we are absolutely determined to continue participating in this tournament that the whole team loves so much.”