Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez suffered a horror injury in the first half of Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid’s second-leg clash in the Champions League quarter-final. Fermin, diving to score what could have been Barcelona’s third goal of the match, was struck by Atleti goalkeeper Juan Musso’s boot.
Fermin, who attempted a diving header inside the box, made contact with the ball and headed it wide, before being caught by the outstretched left leg of the goalkeeper. Musso’s studs struck the Barcelona No.16 on the face.
Fermin went to ground immediately, with blood falling onto the pitch. Cameras showed the scene briefly but cut away soon, as Fermin struggled to get back to his feet after the collision.
A long pause followed in the game, allowing the player to receive treatment and recover.
The injury came during Barcelona’s exceptional start to the second leg of the tie. Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres’ brilliance handed Barcelona a 2-0 lead within the first 24 minutes of the game.
Lamine Yamal began the game in sensational fashion, capitalising on a defensive mistake. He intercepted the ball outside the box and then slipped the ball between the keeper’s legs to open the scoring in the 4th minute. Ferran Torres doubled the lead for the visitors with a sublime left-footed finish 20 minutes later.
As Barcelona pushed for their third goal in the minutes following the second, Fermin unfortunately ended up clattering into the keeper’s boot.
Notably, the referee did not show any card to Musso for the challenge.
Fermin’s injury handed Atletico the perfect break to counter Barcelona, and they hit back with a goal through Ademola Lookman in the 31st minute.
For context, Barcelona came into this game with a 0-2 deficit. They will need to overturn that if they are to go through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
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