Koke (left) scored the decisive goal to put Atletico past Barca.

The 1-1 result in the first leg gave Atletico a big advantage as they only needed a goalless draw at home yesterday to win a ticket to the fourth round of the strongest teams in Europe.

In the fifth encounter this season and also the most important match in the continental arena, Atletico defeated Barca for the first time thanks to a goal scored very early by Koke.

`Football’s Robin Hood` – as Atletico midfielder Gabi named his team – has taken away the glory of `rich guy` Barca.

Becoming one of the four strongest teams in Europe is a completely worthy result for coach Simeone and his team.

Coach Simeone’s impression is bold in Atletico’s victory.

Barca created a few opportunities but there were no truly dangerous plays.

Atletico, on the contrary, only held the ball 30% of the time but launched more shots than Barca (15 compared to 12).

Atletico 1-0 Barca

Coach Simeone caused a big surprise for Barca when he directed his players to attack first in the first 20 minutes.

From a long pass across the line, Adrian had the ball in the penalty area and then shot a shot like a hammer, hitting the post and bouncing out.

After the first 20 minutes of intense attack, coach Simeone directed his players to retreat deep into their home field to play defensive counter-attack as usual.

Neymar played hard but couldn’t score like the previous two times.

Unable to beat Atletico with passes in the middle, Barca switched to playing long balls and high crosses.

In the final minutes of the match, the spirit of Atletico players was very high thanks to the enthusiastic support from the home fans.

Squad

Atletico Madrid: Courtois, Godin, Filipe Luis, Juanfran, Miranda, Tiago, Koke, Raul Garcia, Gabi, Adrian (Diego 61′), Villa (Rodriguez 79′).

Goal: Koke 6′.

Barcelona: Pinto, Mascherano, Bartra, Jordi Alba, Dani Alves, Fabregas (Alexis 61′), Xavi, Iniesta (Pedro 72′), Busquets, Messi, Neymar.