Hansi Flick reacts to Barcelona’s beating by Atletico Madrid in Champions League at Camp Nou
By Joel Masibo, April 9, 2026Julián Alvarez’s superb free-kick and Alexander Sørloth’s expert finish earned Atletico Madrid a famous 2-0 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at the Camp Nou.
Match outlook
Atleti capitalised on Pau Cubarsí’s dismissal to take a two-goal lead in their first leg encounter against the Catalans. Barcelona made a bright start with Marcus Rashford and Lamine Yamal buzzing down the wings, but it was Atleti who broke the deadlock as the hosts suffered two setbacks on the brink of half-time.
The first came as Pau Cubarsí was dismissed in the 44th minute for a trip on Giuliano Simeone, the second a minute later when Julián Alvarez curled the resulting free-kick over the wall and into the top corner.
Hansi Flick’s side responded well after the break, Rashford rounding Juan Musso in the 50th minute but shooting into the side-netting before forcing a fingertip save with a dipping free-kick minutes later, but the visitors held firm before again showing their clinical quality. It was substitute Alexander Sørloth this time, the Norwegian forward expertly converting Matteo Ruggeri’s low cross from the left.
Following the setback, Barcelina manager Hansi Flick reacted to defeat against their Spanish rivals:
“We gave everything, but today we weren’t lucky. It is not done yet. We will try; we will fight. The semi-final might seem far away now, but we will try to be there. We have the quality, we have the players who can change this,” he said.
Key stats
Julián Alvarez has scored three direct free-kicks in the Champions League, having previously converted for Atleti against Sparta Praha in November 2024 and for Man City against Crvena Zvezda in September 2023.
Alvarez’s nine goals are the most an Atleti player has ever managed in a single Champions League campaign (excludes qualifying). The Argentinean forward has scored 15 goals in his last 18 appearances in the competition.
Atleti had won one of their last seven away matches (D2 L4) in UEFA competition before tonight.
Barcelona had lost just two of their last 18 UEFA home matches (W13 D3) before tonight.