A Luis Suarez brace was all it took for Barcelona to battle back and beat 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-1 in an action-packed Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Camp Nou. Atletico scored a potentially-valuable away goal when Fernando Torres blasted in a clinical first-time shot.
But the game turned when Torres was sent off before half-time for two needless bookings inside seven minutes. Barca upped the tempo after the break, Suarez prodding in the equaliser then powerfully heading in the winner.
However, the Uruguayan was also fortunate not to receive a first-half red card after kicking out at Atletico right-back Juanfran.
The teams will meet again at the Vicente Calderon in next Wednesday’s second leg.
Arturo Vidal’s early goal gave five-time winners Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory over Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
The midfielder headed home Juan Bernat’s cross in the German side’s first attack of the game.
Bayern, though, failed to build on their advantage as they struggled to break down a well-organised Benfica.
It was an unusually lethargic performance by Bayern, who have reached the semi-finals every year since 2012, and they will need to improve on this performance to avoid an upset in next week’s return leg in Portugal.
Bayern manager Pep Guardiola suggested before the game that Benfica had the best defence in Europe.
Bayern scoring a goal after 90 seconds suggested he was generous with his praise, but to Benfica’s credit they made things difficult for the hosts for the rest of the game.
Despite Franck Ribery and Douglas Costa’s attempts to stretch Benfica, the Portuguese side stood firm and Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski was left with little to no service.
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