Win, Barcelona Still Eliminated. Atletico Madrid to the Champions League Semifinals

JAKARTA - Barcelona won but failed to reach the semifinals of the Champions League. In the second duel of the quarterfinal round at the Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Wednesday, April 15, 2026 early morning WIB, Barca who returned to play with 10 players beat host Atletico Madrid 2-1. Only Barca was eliminated because Atletico had a 3-2 aggregate lead and qualified for the semifinals.

Barca actually made an impressive start. Even the offensive game of the team coached by Hansi Flick immediately gave positive results and equalized the aggregate in less than 25 minutes.

Yes, Barca already had a 2-0 lead so that the aggregate became the same 2-2. Not stopping there, striker Ferran Torres also managed to score a brace that increased Barca's lead. Only his second goal in the match was annulled because of offside.

However, Atletico were able to narrow the gap. A single goal from Ademola Lookman saved Atletico to win the aggregate 3-2 so that they managed to set foot in the semifinals for the first time since 2017.

In the semi-finals, Atletico, who have never won the Champions League despite reaching the final twice in 2014 and 2016, will face Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon.

In the first meeting at Sporting's home, Arsenal won 1-0 so that the English Premier League standings had the opportunity to reach the semifinals. Arsenal only needs a draw when hosting Sporting at the Emirates, Thursday, April 16, 2026 early morning WIB.

Meanwhile, Barca lost the opportunity to win a double title this season. The failure in the Champions League makes Lamine Yamal et al. fully focused on defending the Spanish La Liga title. This is because Barca has also been eliminated in the Copa del Rey.

In the big match, which is the fifth meeting between the two La Liga teams in one season, Flick put the young players, Torres and Gavi, as starters to dismantle Atletico's defense.

Barca needs a player with high mobility without getting tired because they have to catch up with the goal deficit. This is what makes striker Robert Lewandowski and winger Marcus Rashford start the match by sitting on the bench.

The result? Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso who replaced Jan Oblak's position due to injury had to fight to save the goal. Even the match was only 32 minutes, Musso almost conceded if he didn't parry the ball from Yamal's kick.

Failure in the first minute did not make Barca lose hope. They actually played more aggressively pressing Atletico's defense. It was proven when the match entered the fourth minute, Yamal finally broke the deadlock after taking advantage of the mistake of defender Clement Lenglet.

The former Barca player actually wanted to do a backpass. However, the ball instead hit Yamal and was received by Torres. Seeing Yamal in a good position, Torres then returned the ball to his partner who fired to beat Musso.

The 1-0 advantage made Barca more aggressive in pressing Atletico who started late when playing at home. Even Dani Olmo almost added a goal when he got the chance. Only Musso managed to parry Olmo's ball. Although he failed to increase the lead, Barca still showed dominance over Los Rojiblancos.

Barca's attack again gave results when Torres defeated Musso in the 24th minute. Again, Lenglet failed to carry out his duties well so that he could be passed by Torres who welcomed the pass from Olmo and then converted it into a goal with a cross shot to the top corner of the goal.

Barca managed to equalize the aggregate after leading 2-0. They also continued to play aggressively and almost added a goal through Fermin Lopez. Only, Lopez's header from close range could be stopped by Musso.

When under pressure, Atletico began to rise. They tried to match Barca's game and finally managed to narrow the goal deficit in the 31st minute. The goal was produced by Lookman after receiving an assist from Marcos Llorente. The score changed to 2-1 for Barca and lasted until the first half ended.

Entering the second half, Barca again played aggressively to chase the goal deficit. The reason is that Lookman's goal makes Atletico again ahead of the aggregate.

In an attack, Olmo fell in the penalty box while being escorted by Diego Simeone's players. The Barca player raised his hand to ask for a penalty. But the referee let the incident pass.

They were again disappointed when Torres actually managed to score his second goal in the 55th minute. How not, the referee did not approve the goal from Torres' volley kick which was considered offside.

Flick then brought Rashford and Lewandowski to add power. Only that effort did not bear fruit because Barca failed to add a goal as the tension of the match changed higher.

Atletico also almost equalized through defender Robin Le Normand. But his shot from close range was still able to be stopped by goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

The match started to heat up and Atletico defender Matteo Ruggieri was elbowed by Gavi. As a result, Ruggieri's face was bleeding so he had to get treatment.

The tension of the match was getting higher when Barca defender Eric Garcia committed a foul against forward Alexander Sorloth in the 79th minute. The foul resulted in a red card for Garcia which made Barca have to finish the match with 10 players. In the first match, Barca also lost a player after defender Pau Cubarsi received a red card.

Barca also had trouble adding goals because they lost a player. Their efforts also did not bear fruit so that the score remained 2-1 until the end of the match. Even though they won, Barca was still eliminated and Atletico advanced to the semifinals.