In the 44th minute, Kovacs rightfully sent off Barcelona player Pau Cubarsí after reviewing VAR footage, and from that free kick, Julián Álvarez scored a masterful goal to take a 1-0 lead. The final 2-0 was set by Alexander Sørloth in the 70th minute, but before that, in the 62nd minute, Barcelona was not awarded a clear penalty that would have leveled the teams numerically on the field. A clear penalty not sanctioned for Atlético de Madrid. And not even with numerical superiority did they manage to pose a threat against Barcelona. pic.twitter.com/GOPE52eGbz Given that Musso clearly took a goal kick and Pubill handled the ball, Kovacs should have awarded a penalty and shown a yellow card to Pubill, and since the Madrid defender already had one yellow card, he would have been sent off. However, Kovacs did not call it, and after the match, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick was furious. "I don’t understand why the referee didn’t award a penalty, nor why VAR didn’t intervene. It’s unbelievable. Mistakes happen, but what is VAR for in such situations?! It should have been a penalty and a second yellow, meaning a red card for Pubill," said Flick. Barcelona defender Gerard Martín agreed with Flick. "The goalkeeper placed the ball on the ground and passed it, and the player handled the ball. Even if the referee didn’t see what happened, VAR should have reacted and told him," said Martín.