Barcelona made a stirring comeback against ten-man Atletico Madrid to beat them 2-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night.

Fernando Torres had put Madrid ahead, before losing his cool and getting sent off for two bookable offences.

Luis Suarez stamped his class in the second half with two goals that give Barca a definite advantage heading into the next leg.

He flirted with getting sent off twice, first kicking out at Juanfran in the first half and then later shoving Felipe Luis in the second half. How he managed to escape with just a yellow card for both offences will remain a mystery.

Atletico Madrid had come with a definite game plan, to sit deep and hurt Barcelona on the counter.

Defending in an extremely narrow shape, and allowing Barca to attack at will from the wings.

Barca missed a couple of early chances , first when Lionel Messi skewed a volley after good work from Jordi Alba and then later when Neymar flashed a header over the bar from Dani Alves&’s floated ball in from the right.

And Atletico made them pay for their profligacy after just 25 minutes on the clock, Fernando Torres cooly finishing past Ter Stegen&’s legs after an excellent turn and pass from Koke.

Manager Diego Simeone seemed happy momentarily, as Atletico had just got the start most teams don’t even dream of when they travel to the Camp Nou.

Torres then suddenly twisted and turned on the sideline, releasing the dangerous Antoine Griezmann, whose shot was just about palmed away for a corner in the 32nd minute.

It all went horribly wrong soon after when Torres went in for unnecessary challenges on first Neymar, and then on Sergio Busquets in quick succession to get sent off and suddenly change the scenario of the game.

Just five minutes past the half-hour mark, and Atletico were down to 10 men already, yet with some resolute defending they managed to get to the interval without any major scare.

In fact, Griezmann had come close to doubling their lead, when he almost managed to get a meaningful touch to Yannick Carrasco&’s cross.

The second half was all about Barca, with Neymar hitting the cross bar with a curled effort after cutting in from the right flank in the 51st minute.

Just a minute later Felipe Luis made a goal-saving tackle on Messi as the Camp Nou grew in confidence, knowing the inevitable goal was around the corner.

They had to wait until the 63rd minute when Alba&’s mis-hit shot found Suarez, who tapped in from close range to send the crowd into a frenzy.

Some controversy always remains with the talented striker as he was given a caution for slapping Felipe Luis in the 70th minute. He was undoubtedly lucky to stay on the pitch, as softer red cards have been given in the past.

There was no controversy about his winning goal, however, as Suarez completely powered his header past a stationary Jan Oblak from Dani Alves&’s cross on the 74th minute.

Barca weren’t content to just win by the single goal and they pressed for a third which would have made things easier for them in the second leg, but it was not to be.

While Atletico do have a crucial away goal, they know a draw would have been a great result to take to the Vicente Calderon next week.