Barcelona seems not to learn from their mistakes as they were defeated 2-0 by Atletico Madrid in their last La Liga fixture. The Catalans have lost their way as Lionel Messi left this summer and are finding it hard for a comeback. While all the financial issues the manager replacement rumours are affecting more to this situation.
Barcelona travelled to the Spanish city capital as they were to face Atletico Madrid in the league fixture. While the Catalans came into the match after suffering a 3-0 defeat against Benfica in the Champions League earlier in the week. Coming to Atletico Madrid they were charged up beating AC Milan in the Champions League fixture.
And Atletico Madrid playing against Barcelona ended with 2-0 scoreline as home side ease passed the Catalans. It was Barcelona’s former man Luis Suarez who came on haunting his former club with one goal and one assist.
Following the 2-0 results between the Spanish giants, Atletico Madrid currently sits 2nd in the table with 17 points. While Barcelona holds the 9th spot collecting 12 points in their last seven matches in La Liga.
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Barcelona: Starting XI
Atletico Madrid started with a 3-1-4-2 formation, deploying their best goalkeeper Jan Oblak between the sticks. In front of Oblak was a three-man defence consisting of Stefan Savic in the right; Jose Maria Gimenez in a central role and Mario Hermoso in the left. Diego Simeone gave Koke a central midfield role with both attacking and defending power. In front of Koke was a four-man advanced midfield deploying Marcos Llorente in the right; Yannick Carrasco and Rodrigo de Paul as a central pairing; and Thomas Lemar in the left. While Simeone set up a two-man attack deploying Luis Suarez and Joao Felix at upfront.
Barcelona had 4-2-3-1 as they started the game with Marc ter Stegen between the sticks. The Catalans had a four-man defence consisting of Oscar Mingueza in the right-back; Ronald Araujo and Gerard Pique as centre-back pairs; and Sergino Dest as the left-back. In front of these four were Nico Gonzalez and Sergio Busquets mainly as a defensive midfielder. While in front of these two was an advanced midfield consisting of Frenkie de Jong in the right; Phillipe Coutinho in the centre and Gavi in the left. And there was only one man up front playing as number 9, Memphis Depay.
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Barcelona: Match Review
Starting off the first half, Barcelona looked confident as they were seen passing the ball with a high tempo. While their full-pack midfield was the key in the opening minutes of the game. Atletico changed their formation as players dropped back to the midfield to help the struggling defence.
It seemed working as they were now seen with more possession and attacks. And it also paid off as the home side got into the lead in the 23rd minute. Joao Felix collected the ball in the midfield which was then passed to Luis Suarez. And then the Uruguayan made a great through pass to Lemar in the Barcelona box. Collecting the ball Lemar made a nice finish with a left-foot shot and beating Ter Stegen.
Following which Atletico seemed to gain more confidence as they went in search of a second goal. In the meantime, Barcelona tried hard to equalize the score but their broken midfield and failed wing attacks were the roadblocks. In the 44th minute, Atletico scored another goal with Barcelona’s former man Luis Suarez the scorer. This time Lemar provided the assist which was calmly finished by Suarez.
Returning for the second half both teams looked balance for some minutes. However, after the hour mark, Barcelona seemed a bit dangerous with some of their continuous attacks. But their failure in the final third was the main reason for not being able to score. However, despite some troubling moments, Atletico looked control of the game. Barcelona seemed to be creating some chances as Ansu Fati was brought on the pitch, but he was made quite a bit after. Following the final whistle, Atletico Madrid emerged as a 2-0 winner against struggling and disorganized Barcelona.
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