Lionel Messi’s 700th goal couldn’t help Barcelona to win 3 points as they drew 2-2 against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. Here is our exclusive Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Match Review.
Lineups & Match Ratings
Here are the Lineups and match ratings of both teams, included in our Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid Match Review.
FC Barcelona
Atletico Madrid
Summary
The match witnessed some of the controversial referee decisions. Penalty decision for both the teams seemed to be a little harsh. But keeping those aside, Barca never showed much intent to win the game. They seemed to be clueless and relied on personal brilliance. The players’ relationship with their manager might have an impact on their performance.
Riqui Puig had an excellent game. He provided the creativity and always showed intent to chase the opponents and created pressure up the field. He could be really special in the long run for the Catalans. Messi got some chances in the first half but looked reckless in finishing.
Barcelona pressed high which did cost them a lot. As Atletico Madrid was excellent on counters. Carrasco, Costa, Llorente hit Barcelona defence time and time again. Diego Costa’s deflection from a Messi corner opened the scoring for Barca in the 11th minute of the game. But the lead didn’t last long.
Atletico was awarded a penalty as Carrasco was brought down inside the box by Vidal. Though the penalty saved by Ter Stegen but VAR showed that he was out of the goal line when Costa took the penalty. Saul took the penalty again and it was 1-1 for Atletico in just 19th minutes of the game. Though after this drama Barca created some chances but without 1 or 2 players it seemed that no one was giving their extra bit which was needed to win this match. Atletico played better football as they continued to hit Barca on transitions.
There was more and more drama in the second half. With the commencement of second-half, Barca was awarded a controversial penalty. Semedo was fouled by Felipe inside the box, though the contact seemed to be very minimal. Messi scored the penalty to reach 700 career goals. The home team was ahead in the game for some time.
A controversial decision led to a penalty for Atletico Madrid. Both Carrasco and Semedo was involved this time as the former was clipped by the fullback to loose his control over the ball inside the area. It seemed that Carrasco tripped on his own but referee Alejandro Hernandez had other ideas. Saul Niguez again took a perfect shot to make it 2-2. Setien’s late substitutions provided little sense. Fati and Griezmann had merely time to make some impact on the game as both of them came on the field after 80 minutes.
Man of the match
Saul Niguez was awarded the Man of the Match award for his two spot-kick goals and a decent performance throughout the match.
Next 5 fixtures
FC Barcelona
- Villareal (A)
- Espanyol (H)
- Real Valladolid (A)
- Osasuna (H)
- Deportivo Alaves (A)
Atletico Madrid
- Mallorca (H)
- Celta Vigo (A)
- Real Betis (H)
- Getafe (A)
- Real Sociedad (H)
Final Thoughts
Barcelona was lucky enough to get 1 point from this game. As per Atletico Madrid’s concern, they missed a golden opportunity to defeat Barca in Camp Nou since 2008. For Real Madrid, this was the best result possible as they moved one step forward to lift the title. Now they just have to concentrate on their final 6 games only. If Los Blancos loses any points from now on, It will be a chance for Barcelona to climb back on the La Liga 2019-20 table.
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