BARCELONA — Luis Suarez scored two second-half goals to lead Barcelona to a 2-1 comeback victory over 10-man Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday (April 5).
Fernando Torres opened the scoring in the 25th minute, but quickly went from hero to villain for Atletico when two reckless tackles saw him sent off in the 35th.
Atletico resisted the defending champion’s push for an equaliser until Suarez finally levelled with an opportunistic goal in the 63rd.
Suarez then put Barcelona ahead in the 74th when he played Dani Alves wide before sending the Brazil defender’s cross past goalkeeper Jan Oblak with an unstoppable header.
“Torres’s red card was crucial because everyone knows about the quality he has,” Suarez said after scoring his team-high seventh and eight goals in the Champions League this season.
“It was a shame because it would have been great to come back against 11 players. The most important thing is that we won and they will have to score in the Calderon.”
Also on Tuesday, Bayern Munich edged Benfica 1-0 in their quarterfinal first leg.
Barcelona’s fightback comes three days after Real Madrid ended Barcelona’s Spanish record 39-match unbeaten streak with a 2-1 win at Camp Nou.
Besides recovering its winning ways after the disappointing “clasico” defeat, Luis Enrique’s side avenged its exit at the hands of Atletico from the 2013-14 quarterfinals with its club-record 11th consecutive home win in the competition.
Suarez took his overall haul to 45 goals this season, as he and strike partners Lionel Messi and Neymar recovered their dominant form after underwhelming against Real.
