Although Atlético de Madrid still stressed that nothing is closed in their Champions League quarterfinal tie, taking into account the potential of the Barcelona, the red and white team was never beaten after a victory in the first leg as a visitor, nor in the highest European tournament —with five precedents— nor by the Blaugranas, with another five between the Copa del Rey and the League Cup.
There are three examples framed in the ancient European Cup, when the Madrid team always advanced with the return in their field, as is the case now with tomorrow’s duel at the Metropolitan stadium. In those cases, they won the first leg by two goals, between 1966 and 1974, against Malmo, Dinamo Bucharest and Red Star.
On the first occasion, on September 28, 1966, goals by Cardona and Luis Aragonés, in the first round in Malmo, sealed a tie that concluded with a 2-2 draw at the Manzanares stadium, with goals by Luis Aragonés, Jorge Mendonça and Urtiaga for the team then led by Otto Gloria.
The second and third focus on 1973-74, when Atlético later reached the final, which they lost in the tiebreaker against Bayern Munich. Previously, the team coached by Argentine Juan Carlos Lorenzo won two qualifying rounds with a 0-2 lead in the first leg: in the second round against Dinamo Bucharest and in the quarterfinals against Red Star.
In the Romanian capital, on October 24, 1973, José Eulogio Gárate, in the 19th minute, and Eusebio Bejarano, in the final moments, sealed the 0-2 with which Atlético went to the return match at the Vicente Calderón, on November 7, 1973. The match ended 2-2 and put the Madrid team on the ropes.
He suffered with goals in the 1st minute by Mircea Lucescu, club legend and legendary coach who died this week, and in the 11th by Georgescu, although in the 9th the Argentine Rubén “Ratón” Ayala had scored. The final 2-2 was scored by Capón in the 73rd minute, heading to the next round against Red Star.
In Belgrade, on March 6, 1974, Atlético repeated the 0-2 victory in the first leg, with goals from Luis Aragonés and Gárate. In the second leg, played two weeks later, on March 21, they drew goalless at the Calderón. Then they eliminated Glasgow Celtic, after the mythical “battle” of the first leg in Scotland (0-0) and the 2-0 victory at home, before playing the final against Bayern at the Heysel stadium in Brussels, where they lost in the tiebreaker, after a 1-1 in extra time of the first match.
From Milan to Leverkusen in the Simeone era
Two other examples are more recent, already in the Champions League, both with Diego Simeone as coach of Atlético de Madrid, although one of them even with a lower income: when they beat Milan 0-1 at San Siro, in the round of 16 of the 2013-14 edition, on February 19, 2014, with a goal from Diego Costa. In the second leg, they also won 4-1.
The other was against Bayer Leverkusen, in the round of 16 of the 2016-17 campaign, the last time Atlético reached the semifinals of the top European tournament. Then, their 2-4 victory in Germany, with goals from Saúl Ñíguez, Antoine Griezmann, Kevin Gameiro and Fernando Torres, It was also conclusive for the second leg, which ended with rotations and a 0-0 at the Vicente Calderón.
“Good result, but with an opponent that will surely make us suffer on Tuesday. We know who we are going to face, we are capable of playing the game we are going to have and they also know who they are going to play against (…). We need a lot from our people, more than ever. We need them to be strong and push us for a game that will always be complex and difficult,” warned Diego Simeone after the 0-2 at the Camp Nou.
“Knowing Simeone, it is impossible for there to be the slightest trust”
That rival, Barcelona, has not managed to overcome the Atlético de Madrid in a tie after a red and white victory in the first leg on Barça ground. This happened in 1994-95 —with Simeone on the pitch as a midfielder—, in 1990-91, in 1975-76 and in 1971-72, in the Copa del Rey, as well as in 1983-84, in the League Cup, when the rojiblanco team always advanced at home.
In 1994-95, Atlético won first 1-4 in the Camp Nou and then lost 1-3 at the Vicente Calderón; in 1990-91, their 2-0 win in Barcelona was enough to keep them going, despite a 3-2 home defeat in the second leg; in 1983-84 they won 1-2 away and won 2-1 at home; in 1975-76 They won 2-3 in the first leg and tied 1-1 in the second leg, and in 1971-72 they won, as now, 0-2 and repeated in the second leg 1-0 at the Calderón.
“The tie is not at all settled. We have to go with the mentality that we are playing at home, with a certain advantage, but by no means definitive. We would do wrong if we trusted ourselves. The priority is the second leg, we are already thinking about that game, with maximum respect for an extraordinary rival who is going to make it very difficult for us. And that is the mentality. Knowing my coach, it is impossible for there to be the slightest confidence,” said Mateu Alemany, director of Men’s Professional Football at Atlético, in statements to “Movistar” at the end of the match at the Camp Nou.
No defeat by two or more goals at home this season
The return is at the Metropolitano. In none of their 23 home games this season have they lost by more than a goal difference. Their defeats are reduced to three: 0-1 with Betis, 1-2 with Bodo/Glimt and, last Saturday, 1-2 precisely against Barcelona. They also lost a draw, 1-1 with Elche. He won the rest of the matches, for a total of 19 wins. He has scored 59 goals and conceded 22 throughout that journey.
But, as a warning, the last team that won by two or more goals at the Metropolitano was Barcelona, last season, by 2-4, on March 16, 2025, with LaLiga EA Sports at stake. He Atlético led 2-0 in the 70th minute, with goals from Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sorloth, but later fell 2-4 with goals from Robert LewandowskiLamine Yamal and Ferran Torres, the latter with a double. The last two goals were in added time.
That victory and the 0-3 one two years ago, on March 17, 2024, are the only two victories by two or more goals for Barcelona in its 22 visits to Atlético de Madrid stadiums in the Diego Simeone era. Eleven of their 13 wins on the red and white fields during that period were by a single goal difference.
“The result is important, but it is not closed. Work hard, think about our own thing, step by step we are where we want to be, so we are very happy,” said Julián Álvarez, a figure from Atlético, who awaits Barcelona with the guarantee of a 0-2 in favor.