Fernando Torres was both hero and villain in the match against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday. Barcelona defeated Athletico Madrid 2-1 in a highly exhilarating encounter that saw Fernando Torres being sent off.
Torres was the hero when he scored an important away goal for his team. Minutes after opening the score line of the match, he turned villain as he received a red card at Camp Nou. After El Classico’s defeat to Real Madrid, Diego Simone, head coach of Athletico Madrid figured out Barcelona were vulnerable after Madrid broke their unbeaten match run. The Catalan giants lost on Saturday to bitter rival, Real Madrid in another tough encounter that saw a red card being dished out as well. However, Barcelona squeezed in a victory against Athletico.
The attacks from Athletico Madrid were intense from the first minute, in a bid to get an early away goal. Within 25 minutes, Fernando Torres slotted home the first goal of the encounter. He received a pass from playmaker Koke and burst through the defense to put the goal past Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s legs.
The defense from Athletico Madrid was impressive at first as they held off the lethal three-man attack from their opponent. Two different absurd decisions from the striker earned him a red card. Torres picked up the first yellow card for a pull on Neymar just few minutes after scoring. He got the second in a rough attack on Sergio Busquets. This earned him a red card and drastically changed the direction of the game.
Both teams went on the break. Upon return, a brace from former Liverpool striker, Luis Suarez gave Barcelona a hard-fought home victory. This means Athletico Madrid would have to come from behind to defeat the star-studded Catalan giants. Athletico did same two years ago when they came from behind to defeat Barcelona at this same quarter final stage.