- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Barcelona star Fermin Lopez bled profusely after being kicked in the face during their Champions League showdown with Atletico Madrid.
Lopez, 22, covered his face as blood spilled after he was accidentally caught on the nose by the studs of opposition goalkeeper Juan Musso.
But somehow the Spaniard came back on looking as clean as ever within minutes of the gruesome scenes – with one fan online praising his ‘die for Barcelona’ attitude.
When he was down, Lopez had had to use his shirt to try and stop the flow of blood while medics rushed on to attend to him.
His team-mates could hardly even watch – Lamine Yamal took the ball over to the corner flag and tried not to watch.
Musso faced no consequences for his wild challenge in what was a madcap opening to the game.
And TNT Sports’ coverage of the incident was questionable, as the cameras lingered on him and co-commentator Lucy Ward said: ‘Barcelona smell the blood of Atleti.’
That came within the context of a comeback from Barcelona, who arrived in Madrid for this second leg with a 2-0 deficit from last week.
Within four minutes Yamal had pulled a goal back as Barca capitalised on a woeful error from former Tottenham and Aston Villa loanee Clement Lenglet.
And after 24 minutes, Barcelona levelled the tie through Ferran Torres as he smashed in a stunning top-corner finish.
Lopez could have converted for a third goal in the same incident that saw him take the boot to the face.
He was airborne after a diving header but Musso had come rushing out. The stopper produced a great save but followed through and caught the attacker.
Atletico re-established their aggregate lead over Barcelona 31 minutes in as Ademola Lookman, who has been brilliant since signing in February, netted.
His goal came thanks to a rapid-fire counter-attack from Diego Simeone’s side, propelled in part by a superb bending pass from Antoine Griezmann on the half-turn.
More to follow.
