A resilient Barcelona stumbled past a defiant Atletico
Playing Atletico in their own den is a huge task for any team and Barcelona, even at their best, have always struggled against them.
The Match:
For the first 20 minutes Barcelona did not even have a sniff of the Atletico goal. Atletico continued to threatened from the word go. Morata in particular was giving Firpo and Pique big problems.
Despite all the attacks, Atletico fell short when it came to finishing. Unfortunately for them, Ter Stegen was in no mood to give in despite his defenders letting him down. But as time progressed they settled in. Morata, Joao Felix, Hererra & Hermosa missed some great chances.
Lenglet was not very confident in his tackles, yet he hung on bravely. Pique and Firpo despite fumbling also tried hard while Roberto was the most assured when it came to tackles and blocks. Messi, Suarez and Griezmann were tracking back to help in defending.
Messi dropped deep and started to provide his signature crosses, in tandem with Roberto, De Jong and Arthur. Rakitic, Suarez and Griezmann (booed mercilessly by the crowd from the start till the end) missed good chances. Pique’s well taken header hit the crossbar.
Barcelona were slightly better in the 2nd half as Messi got involved in the attacks more. It was end to end stuff with both defenses standing up to the challenge. While Ter Stegen continued to be tested, Oblak was forced into action by Messi and Suarez. Griezmann misfired a great opportunity after Messi had done a fantastic, mazy run through the Atletico defense.
As the game inched towards the last 10 minutes, it looked like a stalemate in the offing. It was a result that would benefit neither teams. A win was the only option for both.
And lo! came the moment of reckoning.
Messi shimmied past a few Atletico players and teed Suarez who returned it to his little friend just outside the box and with the deadliest of finishes, a cool Messi made it 1–0. Just like that! It all looked absolutely effortless.
In the very last minute of play, Messi gave away a free kick in a dangerous area but Ter Stegen & Co saw it off to ensure a hard-fought win for Barcelona.
Analysis:
Valverde did not have quit a few players of his choice, for this match. Hence he brought in the likes of Firpo & De Jong who were experiencing the nightmare of playing Atletico Madrid in the Wanda Metropolitano, for the very first time.
Since Busquets was suspended, Arthur Melo came in his place and Rakitic was also given a start. They all did okay to an extent but were not at their usual best. It was obvious that the two were rusty.
Pique was back in the team, but had a tough time as he lacked the pace and patience. He was booked early for a foul (his 10th yellow card of the season!) and was lucky not to have received the red card after what looked like a second bookable offense in the game. He was taken off injured and replaced by Umtiti in the later part of the game. (looks like another blessing in disguise.)
Here’s a question - When facing a tough opponent like Atletico, would you go for the more experienced Umtiti in defense or the inexperienced Firpo, despite the pace he offers on the left ? I would prefer the latter.
De Jong and Arthur did okay but they were constantly muscled down by the sturdy Atletico players who are past masters in physicality and play acting. They also are great at getting into one’s head and forcing the opponents to react angrily. Thus the Barcelona midfield were not able to connect well with the attack regularly and in turn, increased the pressure on their own defense.
For Junior Firpo it was the biggest test in Barca colors, till date. He had his share of howlers and almost scored an own goal. But this difficult learning curve would prove to be a good one for the young defender. (Thank goodness there was no Diego Costa who could have made it worse for him.)
Suarez despite being poor with his first touch, never stopped harassing the opposition with his runs and constantly posed danger. Most of all his perfect combination with Messi is still one of the best in the world and can never be overlooked.
Greizmann had a night to forget as he was ineffective and looked tied down. Yet he was on hand to help out at the back and he seemed to be getting into a good understanding with Suarez.
There were three players who made a huge difference for Barcelona on a night when others were fluctuating between average and awful. Ter Stegen on goal, Sergi Roberto on the right and Messi in the middle and upfront were the bright spots for FC Barcelona.
Marc-André ter Stegen, in the goal, was phenomenal, as he had been all through this season for FC Barcelona. His reflex saves kept Barcelona in the hunt till the end. He used every part of his body to keep the Barca goal safe.The big, handsome hunk is crazy and outrageously brave when it comes to standing his ground especially in one to one situations. He just never backs down and he never did it till the very end against Atleti. He is my Man of the Match.
One of my favourite La Masia sweethearts, Sergi Roberto had one of his best games this season (he was equally good in the last UCL game). He never let any of the Atleti players overrun him on the right and was on hand both in attack and defense. He was the only one, ready to run like hell, whenever Messi had the ball. He did well to make use of the spaces whenever Messi dropped deep and made a fantastic, last ditch save that was vital.
In the first half Messi was tied down by Saul and Co. But bringing in Saul to keep Messi under control meant that Simeone had to forgo the pace of Lodi in attack. Sadly Messi was never going to let up - Was he? He was on the hunt and worked really hard to track back as well.The more he got involved in the game, the better Barcelona got. Finally that one moment when he went swaying through the Atletico defense and that lightning yet powerful finish (his first at the Wanda), as if it was the easiest thing to do, proved to be the turning point in the match.
It was a test by fire for Barca and it turned out to be one as well. With the rain pouring down, it was not the best of conditions. But that did not affect the tempo of the game. But the struggling Barcelona team did well to hang in there, even if it was by the tiniest of threads and turned it around in the end.
Ter Stegen and Messi had been Barcelona’s shining beacons this season and its their heroics that earned Valverde this win. But it also was encouraging to see that the rest were trying their best to contribute instead of watching.
By the way this was not the well-oiled Atletico of the past few years. This was a team that had changed drastically and had been struggling to get those last minute, goals this season. Yet they have been successfully forged into a strong unit by Simeone. This promising, young team would definitely go on to become the base for Atletico, in the upcoming years.
I truly hope Valverde would rotate the likes of Umtiti, Todibo, Wague, Arthur, Firpo, Fati, Alena and Perez on a regular basis, especially against lesser teams, to give Barca the required coordination and understanding. It would result in a stronger unit similar to what Simeone had developed with his new look Atleti. With Messi, Suarez and Griezmann in attack, Barca would not lag in striking power like Atletico. But will he, is the million dollar question?
Not the prettiest of wins, but it was a crucial three points for the Blaugranas. Problems do remain and unless Valverde acts on them, they could affect the title hopes of FC Barcelona.
In a nutshell FC Barcelona were poor yet resilient on a night when Simeone’s men did everything, but put the ball in the net.
Image Credits: Google Images
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