Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid took on one another at Montjuic on Saturday night time in La Liga’s table-top conflict to determine who finishes on high of the desk for the brand new yr.
Coming off back-to-back defeats at house, Barcelona have been underneath strain to return to profitable methods in opposition to Diego Simeone. Hansi Flick, nonetheless, continued to be unavailable on the sidelines by means of his suspension.
Barcelona dominated the sport from the primary minute and pushed in direction of aim incessantly however solely managed the solitary aim within the opening interval by means of Pedri Gonzalez.
Earlier than they doubled their benefit and solidified their place, nonetheless, the Colcheneros pulled one again in opposition to the run of play and equalised the scoresheet and the guests stole a late winner.
Barça Common brings you the participant scores from Barcelona 1-2 Atletico Madrid.
Inaki Pena: 7
The goalkeeper had an abnormally silent first half after Barcelona’s dominant efficiency and was fairly actually unchallenged all through the interval as Atletico Madrid didn’t put any strain within the closing third.
Nothing he may do to disclaim Los Rojiblancos’ equaliser. Made a large save within the 76th minute however couldn’t cease the winner.
Alejandro Balde: 7.5
A really optimistic efficiency from Balde as he continuously pushed excessive in assault. Comparatively free from defensive duties, he mixed with Fermin and Pedri to create areas behind the defence and infrequently discovered the best crosses.
Inigo Martinez: 7
A mature and seasoned efficiency from the Basque veteran who was largely unfazed and unchallenged on the night time however alert to step up on the few events it was requested of him.
Pau Cubarsi: 7
The teenager didn’t have an entire lot of defending anticipated of him at Montjuic because the guests sat again and defended solely to interrupt out on the occasional counter. Appeared strong on the few challenges pressured out of him and was as dependable as ever along with his distribution.
Jules Kounde: 8
The fitting-back stepped up within the absence of Lamine Yamal and supplied width down the best flank whereas additionally sustaining strong defensive cowl. Was strong along with his distribution, and link-up play within the closing third and regarded sharper than in current video games.
Marc Casado: 6.5
The teenager was spectacular within the first interval, sustaining the cycle of possession and profitable the ball again to nice impact to show Barcelona’s midfield dominance.
Uncharacteristically made a poor clearance after the break to present Atletico Madrid the equaliser to undo all the workforce’s efforts.
Pedri: 9
Pedri was completely magical in opposition to Atletico Madrid. (Picture by David Ramos/Getty Photographs)
The Canary Islander, but once more, managed the tempo of Barcelona’s midfield with nice precision and was one of many key parts why the Catalans managed to utterly outplay Atletico Madrid’s midfield. Was calm on the ball, selecting out the best attacking passes and linking up with these round him.
Scored Barcelona’s opener on the night time with a beautiful sequence of play as he each created and completed the possibility himself with slightly assist from Gavi.
Solely grew in energy after the break as he moved to a extra superior position and commenced playmaking to extra impact.
Gavi: 7.5
The La Masia starlet was the shock within the beginning lineup as Flick deployed him instead of Dani Olmo because the mediapunta.
Deploying Gavi as an attacking midfielder labored like a attraction as Barcelona has a strong attacking presence with nice potential on the ball and thus didn’t give away the possession with ease.
Gavi could not have been concerned within the play as a lot as his teammates however he made the best runs, excelled even with defensive contributions and recorded his first help of the season for Pedri’s aim.
Fermin Lopez: 6.5
Beginning as Barcelona’s left-winger and taking Yamal’s place within the lineup, the younger midfielder introduced freshness to the desk for the Catalans.
Didn’t get too many probabilities in entrance of aim given his place, and though he typically drifted centrally to affix in assault, he did effectively as a pseudo-winger as demanded of him.
Raphinha: 9
The Brazilian worldwide labored tirelessly for Barcelona all through the night time, making runs behind the defence to get into scoring positions and in addition selecting out teammates as a inventive supply.
He performed on the best wing on the night time instead of Yamal and did effectively to switch the teenager as he supplied a extra direct presence versus Yamal’s trickery and deception.
Missed a straightforward likelihood for his requirements within the second half as he overhit his shot above Oblak.
Robert Lewandowski: 5
Is Lewandowski’s poor kind rising into a priority? (Picture by Angel Martinez/Getty Photographs)
The Polish striker didn’t have a efficiency that screamed of his effectivity in entrance of aim regardless of the workforce’s dominance as Barcelona’s probabilities typically fell to runs of second males from midfield.
Continued to be poor in entrance of aim in his few probabilities. Missed a few sitters within the second half that would have killed off the sport.
