Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez suffered a gruesome injury in the first half of the Champions League quarter-final second leg between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. Fermin, who pounced on Barcelona’s third goal of the game, was struck by the boot of Atleti goalkeeper Juan Musso.
Fermin, who attempted a dive into the box in the box, got a touch to the ball and headed it wide before being caught by the keeper’s outstretched left leg. Musso’s studs hit the Barcelona No.16 in the face.
Fermin immediately went to the ground, blood falling on the pitch. Cameras briefly showed the scene but soon cut it as Fermin struggled to his feet after the collision.
There was a long pause in the game to allow the player to heal and recover.
The injury came during Barcelona’s exceptional start to the second round of the tie. The brilliance of Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres gave Barcelona a 2-0 lead inside the first 24 minutes of play.
Lamine Yamal started the game in sensational fashion, capitalizing on defensive mistakes. He caught the ball outside the box and then slipped between the keeper’s legs to open the scoring in the 4th minute. 20 minutes later, Ferran Torres doubled the lead for the visitors with a superb left-footed finish.
As Barcelona pushed for their third goal in the minutes following the second, Fermin unfortunately tapped into the keeper’s boot.
Notably, the referee did not show Musso any card for the challenge.
Fermin’s injury gave Atletico the perfect break to Barcelona’s counter-attack and they scored through Ademolo Lookman in the 31st minute.
For context, Barcelona entered this match with a 0-2 deficit. They will need to turn it around if they are to progress to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
15 Apr 2026 01:09 IST
