This will be the sixth time that Atlético Madrid and Barcelona have faced each other this season (2x LaLiga, 2x Copa del Rey and 2x UEFA Champions League), which is their most meetings in a single campaign since 2013-14 (6). Only in 1985-86 have they faced more than six times in the same season (8).
As well as a 2-0 win in the first leg, Atlético Madrid have also beaten Barcelona 4-0 in the Copa Del Rey this season. They last beat them three times in the same campaign back in 1995-96.
Since the start of last season, half of Atlético Madrid’s defeats at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano have been against Hansi Flick’s Barcelona (3/6). They are the only visiting side to win there more than once in this period (3), with Real Betis, Lille and Bodø/Glimt the only other sides to win there at all since the start of 2024-25 (one each).
Barcelona’s 2-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid at Camp Nou was the 195th time in UEFA European Cup/Champions League history a team has lost the first leg of a knockout stage tie at home by 2+ goals. Only two of the previous 194 have progressed to the next round – Manchester United against PSG in 2018-19 and Ajax against Benfica in 1968-69.
Atlético Madrid have won five of their six UEFA Champions League home games this season (L1), while no side has scored more home goals this term than Diego Simeone’s side (20).
No side have conceded more goals in the UEFA Champions League since the start of last season than Barcelona (43). They’ve conceded in each of their last 14 matches, with no Spanish side ever going 15 games without a clean sheet in the competition.
Barcelona have been in a low block for just 8% of their opposition’s build-up phases in the UEFA Champions League this season, the lowest percentage by any side. Indeed, Hansi Flick’s side rank first for percentage of time in a high block (51%) during opponent build-up phases.
Julián Alvarez has scored nine goals in the UEFA Champions League this season, the most by an Atlético Madrid player in a single campaign in the competition’s history. The only player to reach double figures in a single European campaign for the club (excluding qualifiers) is Radamel Falcao (12 in the 2011-12 UEFA Europa League).
Atlético Madrid striker Julián Alvarez has applied more high-intensity pressures than any other player in the UEFA Champions League this season (767), while only Ayoub El Kaabi (123) has applied more in the opposition box than the Argentine (116).
Lamine Yamal leads all Barcelona players for successful dribbles (37) and total shots (32) in the UEFA Champions League this season. Meanwhile, no player has created more chances for the club than the 18-year-old (20), while only Fermín López (10) has been involved in more goals (9 – 5 goals, 4 assists).