Atleti v Barcelona set

Atletico Madrid take a 2-0 lead over Barcelona into Tuesday night’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg at the Metropolitano. (uefa.com) Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. in Madrid, 19:00 Greenwich Mean Time, with Barcelona chasing two goals after losing the first leg on April 8. (aljazeera.com) Atletico won 2-0 at Camp Nou last week on goals from Julián Alvarez and Alexander Sørloth, giving Diego Simeone’s side an away win over Spanish opposition in the competition for the first time. (uefa.com; espn.com) The second leg now puts Barcelona in a spot they rarely face under Hansi Flick: needing a road comeback in Europe after their first home loss to Atletico since 2006. (espn.com) For Atletico, the stakes are a return to the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2017. For Barcelona, the task is to break a European pattern: ESPN notes they have never beaten Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, with Atletico winning the clubs’ previous quarterfinal ties in 2013-14 and 2015-16. (apnews.com; espn.com) One of the main pregame questions is in goal. Jan Oblak has been out for more than a month with a muscle injury, but Atletico said he returned to group training on Sunday, and Simeone said he had not yet decided whether Oblak or Juan Musso would start. (sports.yahoo.com; football-espana.net) Barcelona also arrived with complaints about the first leg. The club filed a complaint with Union of European Football Associations after a denied penalty appeal involving Atletico defender Marc Pubill, according to ESPN. (espn.com) The winner advances to the semifinals in May, with Union of European Football Associations scheduling the last four from May 4 to May 29. Tuesday decides whether Atletico’s first-leg control holds up, or whether Barcelona can erase the deficit in Madrid. (uefa.com)