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Barcelona manager Hansi Flick was incensed that his side did not get a penalty as they lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Defender Pau Cubarsi was dismissed in the 44th minute for tripping Giuliano Simeone, with Julian Alvarez scoring a fine free-kick to put Atletico ahead.
Barca were excellent with 10 men and should have levelled before Alexander Sorloth volleyed a second.
And Flick felt his side should have had a penalty when Atletico defender Marc Pubill bizarrely picked up the ball when goalkeeper Juan Musso passed it to him.
Instead, the referee allowed the goal kick to be retaken.
“I don’t know why VAR didn’t intervene,” Flick said.
“The referee is German, and I think it’s unbelievable. We all make mistakes, but what’s the point of VAR?
“I can’t understand it. It should have been a penalty, a second yellow card, and a red. This is unacceptable.”
Barcelona tried to rally after the break but struggled to break down Atletico, who stuck rigidly to their disciplined game plan. The visitors doubled their lead in the 70th minute when Matteo Ruggeri combined with substitute Sorloth to finish clinically.
Atletico comfortably saw out the closing minutes to take a commanding advantage into the return leg. It was their first win at the Nou Camp in 20 years and a first there under Diego Simeone.
“Of course, we lost 0-2, but we had some very good chances and they played very well” Flick said. “We’re not going to give up.
“We believe in ourselves because we played very well in the second half with one less player. They also played very well; they have quality up front. The truth is, it wasn’t easy to defend against them, but we had chances to win this tie.”
Simeone, who has twice taken Atletico to the Champions League final, praised his side but says the job is not done.
“I’m rarely happy; I always find something to keep me from enjoying what we’re doing,” Simeone said.
“I put myself in their shoes and I know how difficult it is to play here. The team explored every avenue, focusing on decisiveness, which we sometimes lack, but today we were 100% clinical.
“We had never won at this ground before. It’s very difficult, playing against a team that arguably plays the best football in Europe, along with PSG and Bayern
“I could tell you a thousand stories about matches where we’ve had 30 shots and haven’t scored. Football is wonderful because clinical finishing is key. We’ve been extremely clinical on some nights, and on others we haven’t been.”
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