Atletico Madrid end 20-year record with historic victory over Barcelona in Champions League

Atletico Madrid secured a 2-0 win over Barcelona in the quarter-final of the Champions League, which has put them in a fine position for progression in the competition.

Diego Simeone’s side had to deal with a lot of pressure for much of the first half, but with the sending off of Pau Cubarsi in the final minutes before the interval for a foul on Julian Alvarez, it meant he became the first teenager to be sent off twice in the Champions League.

The Argentine would score from the resultant free kick to allow the visitors to go into the break at 1-0 to the good.

Barcelona would push for an equaliser in the second half but would fail to do so before Alexander Sorloth came off the bench to make it 2-0 and settle the first leg.

Simeone will have been delighted at the result, as it was his first ever victory at the Camp Nou while in charge of Atletico.

Alexander Sorloth of Atletico de Madrid celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League (Getty Images)

The Catalan side came into the clash unbeaten in their last 25 games against Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou across all competitions, with their last defeat coming in February 2006, when the visitors were managed by Pepe Murcia as he guided them to a 3-1 victory in La Liga.

It has finally ended their poor away record at Camp Nou but also their poor record on the road in the Champions League against Spanish opposition.

Atletico had never won an away match in the competition against a fellow La Liga opponent, losing four of the five they have played before they finally got a victory on their sixth attempt tonight.

This victory has put Simeone’s side in a strong position ahead of the return fixture, and they will be confident they can get the job done at home due to their record in the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona.

Atletico have, on their previous two occasions in the competition, eliminated the Catalan side, in 2014 and 2016, the years that they would reach the final under Simeone.

Fans of the Madrid club will be hopeful this is a positive sign and that they can reach the final once again; however, go one better and finally lift the competition on their fourth attempt.