BARCELONA, Spain — Hansi Flick expressed his outrage after Barcelona was denied a penalty and Marc Pubill wasn’t sent off, following a 2-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Goals from Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sørloth came after Pau Cubarsí received a red card, leaving Atlético in a strong position for the second leg of the quarterfinal match in Madrid on Tuesday.
Flick was especially incensed by the decision to not award Barcelona a penalty in the second half. Pubill, who was already on a yellow card, handled the ball in the penalty area after Juan Musso appeared to take a goal kick.
“I don’t understand the situation when the goalkeeper starts the play and the defender uses his hand to stop the ball, then continues,” Flick stated in the post-match conference.
“In my opinion, that’s a clear second yellow card and a penalty. [The VAR] should explain why it wasn’t reviewed.”
“It’s hard to believe there wasn’t a red card. It feels unjust. We have to accept it, but we will continue to fight next Tuesday.”
Earlier, VAR had intervened in the red card issued to Cubarsí. Initially booked for a last-man foul on Giuliano Simeone, the decision was upgraded to a red card after review.
Álvarez netted his ninth Champions League goal this season from the resulting free kick, while Sørloth secured Atlético’s first victory at Camp Nou since 2006 in the 70th minute.
“They scored two goals, and they have a lot of quality up front,” Flick noted. “We know it’s challenging to defend against them. We must perform better defensively on that first goal.
“After the red card, Atlético scored almost immediately. The VAR seemed very focused on decisions favoring Atlético today. Thanks to Germany for that.”
Barcelona had opportunities both before and after Cubarsí’s dismissal. Marcus Rashford, substituting for the injured Raphinha, took seven shots but was unable to score, as Musso recorded seven saves during the match.
Flick believed that his team’s performance indicated they are not out of the tie just yet as they approach the second leg.
“We played well in the first half and continued that in the second half, even with one less player,” he said. “We gave everything with ten men; today we just weren’t lucky.
“We’ll keep fighting. This isn’t over yet. The semifinals may seem far away, but we still have a chance, and we will give it our all.”