Champions League quarter-final first leg: Barcelona vs Atlético de Madrid facts

Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid meet in an all-Spanish UEFA Champions League quarter-final – the third time the teams have crossed paths at this stage.

Barça overwhelmed Newcastle United 8-3 on aggregate (1-1 a, 7-2 h) in the round of 16 to reach this stage for the 25th time. They had finished fifth in the league phase.

Atleti were 7-5 aggregate winners against Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16 (5-2 h, 2-3 a) after ending the league phase in 14th place and beating Club Brugge 7-4 in the knockout phase play-offs (3-3 a, 4-1 h).

Last match

All the teams' previous European meetings have also come in Champions League quarter finals. Atleti won both ties – 2-1 on aggregate in 2013/14 (1-1 a, 1-0 h), Koke scoring the decisive goal of the second leg, and 3-2 in 2015/16 (1-2 a, 2-0 h), Antoine Griezmann getting both goals in the second game.

Barcelona were 3-1 winners at home to Atleti in La Liga on 2 December, Álex Baena's opener overturned by goals from Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres.

The Catalan club were also victorious in Madrid on 4 April despite falling behind to Giuliano Simeone's 39th-minute strike, Marcus Rashford levelling three minutes later. Atleti lost Nicolás González to a red card in first-half added time and Robert Lewandowski came off the bench to score the winner with three minutes left.

Atleti knocked Barcelona out of this season's Copa del Rey with a 4-3 aggregate semi-final win. Eric García's own goal plus strikes from Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julián Alvarez gave Atleti a 4-0 home victory on 12 February; they held on despite losing 3-0 at the Camp Nou on 3 March, Marc Bernal scoring twice and Raphinha once.

Overall the teams have played 251 matches, Barcelona winning 115 and scoring 472 goals to Atleti's 80 victories and 371 goals.

This is Barcelona's 25th European match against a Spanish club (W7 D6 L11) and Atleti's 26th (W11 D5 L9).

The 2016 defeat by Atleti – Barça's last fixtures against a Liga club in Europe – means the Catalan club have won only four of their 11 two-legged European ties against Spanish teams and only three of the last 11 matches (D3 L5).

At home, however, Barça have suffered one defeat in their last seven European games against Liga visitors (W4 D2).

Atleti's last European contests against a Spanish club came in the 2024/25 round of 16, when they were eliminated by Real Madrid (1-2 a, 1-0 h, 2-4 pens).

That made Los Colchoneros' two-legged record against Liga teams W5 L5.

Atleti have lost only two of their last seven European matches against Spanish clubs (W4 D1).

Barcelona

This is Barcelona's 30th campaign in the Champions League proper, a competition record they share with Real Madrid. They have featured every season since 2003/04.

Second in last season's league phase, Hansi Flick's side beat Benfica (4-1 aggregate) and Borussia Dortmund (5-3) before losing to Inter in the semi-finals (6-7).

Atlético de Madrid 

Atleti are making their 16th appearance in the Champions League proper and a 13th in succession. They have featured every season since 2013/14.

Runners-up in 2014 and 2016, both against Real Madrid, Diego Simeone's side lost to their neighbours on penalties in last season's round of 16.

Key stats

Griezmann scored 35 goals in 102 games for Barcelona between leaving Atleti in 2019 and rejoining them in 2021.

Clément Lenglet was a Barcelona player between 2018 and 2022, making 160 appearances and scoring seven goals.

This is Barcelona's 25th European Cup quarter-final and the 21st in the Champions League era. Their record at this stage is W16 L8, six of those defeats coming in the last nine ties. They beat Dortmund in the 2024/25 last eight (4-0 h, 1-3 a).

Barcelona have lost only two of their last 18 home European matches (W13 D3), scoring 19 goals in winning the most recent four.

Barça have only failed to score in one of their last 30 Champions League matches but are without a clean sheet in 13.

Lamine Yamal has scored in Barcelona's last three Champions League matches. His goal in the round of 16 second leg was his tenth in the competition, taking him level with Kylian Mbappé for the most goals in the competition before turning 19.

Raphinha has scored ten goals in his last ten Champions League knockout appearances.

This is Atleti's 13th European Cup quarter final; their aggregate record is W6 L6 although they have lost the last three, most recently against Dortmund in 2023/24 (2-1 h, 2-4 a), since beating Leicester City 2-1 on aggregate in 2016/17.

Atleti have won only one of their last seven away European games (D2 L4).

None of Atleti's last 34 European matches finished goalless, those games producing an average of 3.94 goals per match. Their 12 Champions League fixtures this season have featured 55 goals.

This is Atleti’s 150th match in the Champions League, Matchday 1 to final.

Alvarez has scored eight Champions League goals this season, surpassing his previous best of seven set in 2024/25. He has 14 in his last 17 games.