Julian Alvarez said his brilliant free-kick against Barcelona was influenced by a famous strike by Lionel Messi against Liverpool in 2019.
Atletico Madrid secured a 2-0 win over Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Camp Nou, with Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth both getting on the scoresheet.
The turning point came after Pau Cubarsí was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity involving Giuliano Simeone. From the resulting free-kick just before half-time, Alvarez curled a superb effort into the top corner.
That strike made him only the second player to score a direct free-kick away to Barcelona in the Champions League, following Antonio da Silva in 2007. It also took his tally to nine Champions League goals this season, a new club record for Atletico in a single campaign, surpassing Diego Costa.
After the match, Alvarez admitted the goal was inspired by Messi’s famous Camp Nou free-kick against Liverpool, saying he had studied it several times and tried to replicate it.
He told ESPN:
“I’ve watched Messi’s goal against Liverpool here [at the Camp Nou] several times, but I wasn’t entirely sure it was going into that exact corner,”
“Once you strike the ball, you realise it, and even before I kicked, I was already quite certain. We were practising in training, and I hadn’t converted a single one. Today was what mattered.”
“I’m in good form at the moment. I feel great, and the most important part of the season is coming up. We need to keep working hard, because there are great things ahead.”
Atletico boss Diego Simeone praised Alvarez’s importance, stressing his work rate and quality as key to the team’s success, while also noting the team’s ability to adapt tactically during the match.