Barcelona – Atlético Madrid: Simeone Causes Chaos With Changes And Atlético Win (2-3)

Barcelona dominated for seventy minutes, until, when nobody expected it, Diego Simeone made the decisive adjustments to change his team’s fate. Valverde could not react, as the defensive line was stretched for the final blow.

Tactical analysis and match report by Kareem Bianchi. 

The last time these two teams met, Lionel Messi’s brilliance had bailed out his side from a halt once more, turning attention to another of his magical moments and ushering Ernesto Valverde out of the mainstream critics’ spotlight. One month later, the two sides met again in the Spanish Super Cup in struggling scenarios. 

Year after year, Simeone attempts to take a turn in his playing style, ultimately always reversing back to the defensive approach that has defined the team during his tenure. However, as more and more attacking players have been brought in, this style has failed to meet the footballers’ attributes, with Atlético being at perhaps the culmination of their offensive underperformance, with only 22 goals scored in 19 games. 

Barcelona also had to deal with their fair share of problems coming into this Super Cup semi-final, and, coming off the back of three draws in four games, a win to temporarily restore the faith in the manager was paramount. So, with Real Madrid awaiting as the opponent in the final, both teams set their sights on an exciting final.

Solid Atlético still in comfort zone

Diego Simeone had to deal with the . . .