Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, Atlético Madrid’s chief executive, was happy to throw in his two cents following last night’s game and the controversy surrounding Fernando Torres’ sending off: “Barça don’t need this kind of assistance. When things like last night happen it makes us think we can’t compete on an equal playing field. Our players don’t deserve this, for the amount of effort they put in”.

The club’s CEO went further: “Rummenigge wants the teams he thinks are in charge to go through to the semi-finals, and he’ll end up getting just that. Football does not belong to Europe’s eight big clubs. Football belongs to everyone and that’s the way it should be. We want to be treated equally. If what Torres did warranted a sending off, then the same criteria should be applied to Luis Suárez. Football cannot be a game where the big teams dictate the rules”.