Champions league: barcelona ousted by atlético madrid

Despite securing a 2-1 away victory in the return leg, FC Barcelona has been eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals by Atlético Madrid. After suffering a 2-0 defeat in the first leg, the Catalans were unable to overturn the deficit. Raphinha voiced strong criticism of the refereeing.

Hope flickered, however. Trailing 2-0 following the first match at Camp Nou, Barcelona delivered a fiery first half at the Metropolitano. As early as the 4th minute, Lamine Yamal capitalized on an error by Clément Lenglet, a former player for the home side, to open the scoring. Then, in the 24th minute, Ferran Torres doubled the lead with a curling shot, leveling the tie on aggregate (2-2). The comeback seemed well underway.

In the 80th minute, referee Clément Turpin, after consulting VAR, sent off Barça’s central defender Eric Garcia for fouling Alexander Sorloth, who was through on goal. Reduced to ten men, Hansi Flick’s players tried everything in the final minutes. Ronald Araujo missed a late chance to equalize in stoppage time, heading over the bar.

catalans denounce refereeing

After the match, the German coach didn’t hide his bitterness. “If you look again at the two matches, we deserve to reach the semi-finals,” declared Hansi Flick. “It was our dream to win the Champions League, we are all very sad,” he added. The coach felt that his players had done what was necessary to qualify.

Raphinha was much more scathing. The Brazilian winger didn’t mince his words. “For me, it was a robbery,” he stated. “What I really want to understand is the referees’ criteria towards Barça,” continued the Brazilian. “I understand making a mistake in a match, but in two consecutive matches? It’s impossible to understand,” he concluded, visibly upset with the officiating.

For Barça, this elimination extends a dark run in European competition. It marks the eleventh consecutive year without lifting the trophy for the Blaugrana. On the other hand, Atlético reaches the last four for the first time since 2017. Diego Simeone will be counting on the effectiveness of his team’s structure to dream of a final in Budapest.