Barca suffered a 0-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid at their home ground, Camp Nou, in the first leg of the quarterfinals last week. To advance, Hansi Flick's team must achieve a significant comeback. However, historically, Metropolitano has not proven to be a favorable venue for such an undertaking.
Since Diego Simeone took over as coach in 2011, Atletico has played 60 Champions League matches at home, across the former Vicente Calderon and the current Metropolitano stadiums. During this period, they have lost only 6 matches: against Benfica, Chelsea, Liverpool, AC Milan, Lille, and Bodo/Glimt. Notably, only one of these defeats, against Lille in the 2024-2025 group stage, was by a two-goal margin (1-3). The other five matches were decided by a single goal.
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Atletico defeated Barca 2-0 in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg at Camp Nou on 8/4. Photo: Reuters
Atletico has never lost a home match in the Champions League knockout rounds, boasting a record of 14 wins and 6 draws. Many major teams, including Real, Barca, Bayern, Man Utd, Man City, and Inter, have left Metropolitano with disappointing results. In the 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 seasons, Barca themselves experienced defeat when visiting Atletico's stronghold, leading to their quarterfinal exit.
Atletico's strength when playing at Metropolitano is evident from their two most recent home Champions League matches. Simeone's team decisively defeated Club Brugge 4-1 in the playoff round and Tottenham 5-2 in the round of 16, securing crucial results to advance.
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Atletico defeated Barca 4-0 in the King's Cup semifinal first leg at Metropolitano on 12/2. Photo: Reuters
This season, Barca previously secured a 2-1 victory at Metropolitano in the La Liga return leg. However, prior to that, they suffered a 0-4 loss in the King's Cup semifinal first leg, which resulted in a 3-4 aggregate defeat.
In five Champions League encounters with Atletico, Barca has won one, drawn one, and lost three. The winner of this tie will advance to the semifinals to face the winner of the Arsenal - Sporting match.
Thanh Quy (according to Marca, UEFA)
