Barcelona – Atlético Madrid: The End Of Simeone’s Winning Streak At Spotify Camp Nou (3-1)

With Raphinha and Pedri’s return, Barcelona restored their offensive firepower, putting three past Diego Simeone’s team. A passive defensive approach from Atlético Madrid and a lack of efficiency in front of the net put an end to their winning streak. Hence, the Catalans clung to La Liga’s lead.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

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La Liga teams showed limited output in the UEFA Champions League competition. Only Real Madrid sits among the top eight, whereas Atético Madrid and Barcelona reside in the play-offs spots. Athletic Club and Villarreal underperformed in Europe, which saw them in the elimination places. Before their clash in La Liga, Barcelona failed to pass the Chelsea test, looking toothless against Enzo Maresca’s men. In the league, the Catalans capitalised on Real Madrid’s setbacks away from the Bernabeu to top La Liga.

Since the 4-0 thrashing against Arsenal, Atlético Madrid have gone undefeated in seven consecutive games. Diego Simeone’s team snatched a late win against Inter Milan and edged past Real Oviedo to reduce the difference with Barcelona to three points. On the buildup to the game, injuries, illness, and setbacks kept Fermin Lopez, Ronald Araujo, and Frenkie De Jong out of service. On the other side, Atlético Madrid headed into the game with two major absentees in Marcus Llorente and Robin Le Normand.

Diego Simeone introduced Nahuel Molina and Divid Hancko to fill the fullback spots, whilst Clément Lenglet formed a partnership at the heart of the defense with José María Giménez. Johnny Cardoso joined Pablo Barrios in the pivot. Nico Gonzalez and Giuliano Simeone hugged the touchlines, with Julian Alvarez leading the attack behind Álex Baena.

Hansi Flick started with Jules Koundé, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, and Alejandro Balde at the backline. Pedri returned to feature in the main eleven alongside Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo in midfield. Lamine Yamal got some chalk on his boots on the right side. Raphinha operated behind Robert Lewandowski.

Atlético Madrid’s long buildup

One minute in, Lewandowski collected the second ball from David Hancko’s long throw-in to initiate the counterattack. The Polish striker picked out Lamine Yamal on the right side, who tended to release Raphinha behind with a Trivela pass. Oblak picked up the ball, dribbled past the Brazilian to reset the visitors’ attack. Giménez squared the pass to Barrios, who exploited Balde’s late jump, leaving him in his wake to access Giuliano Simeone. As a reaction, Barcelona’s backline shuffled across to shut down the ball side. However, Nico Gonzalez’s late run broke down the hosts’ high line. In the meantime, Álex Baena and Julian Alvarez overloaded Jules Koundé around the penalty area, but Eric Garcia cleared Nico Gonzalez’s cutback.

Atlético Madrid opted to launch long goalkicks against Barcelona’s high press. The visitors relied on Oblak clipping long passes to one of the central players, who would then head the ball down to a runner behind Barcelona’s defensive line. Fifteen minutes in, Oblak chipped a long ball toward Nico Gonzalez, who pulled Cubarsi out of his position. Julian Alvarez collected the second ball with Eric Garcia jumping onto him. That vacated the space behind the backline for Nico Gonzalez to attack. However, Baena put much power in the pass, allowing Juan Garcia to sweep behind.

19th minute: Atlético Madrid’s goal. After Barcelona clustered the play on the right to isolate Raphinha on the left, Simeone headed Lamine Yamal’s switch down toward Molina. The latter took advantage of Barcelona’s need for time to shuffle across to clip the ball over the top for Álex Baena to scamper forward and put the ball home.

Atlético Madrid’s high, medium block

Atlético Madrid’s high press was largely dependent on Barcelona’s buildup. Nico Gonzalez and Julian Alvarez were entrusted with dual roles in the high press. When the ball was on Barcelona’s right side, the former ran toward Pau Cubarsi, with the latter staying between Gerard Martin and the far side midfielder (usually Pedri). Baena jumped on Koundé, whereas Pablo Barrios tracked Eric Garcia across, and Johnny Cardoso marked Dani Olmo. On the far side, Giuliano Simeone withdrew to maintain the numerical superiority at the backline.

As the play was funneled toward Balde, Nico Gonzalez stuck with Eric Garcia, and Julian Alvarez engaged with Gerard Martin. Pablo Barrios shifted across to shut down Pedri, whilst Giuliano Simeone pounced on Balde to lock the ball side and force the visitors to keep circulating the ball around. On the far side, Álex Baena blocked off the passing lane toward Dani Olmo, with Cardoso offering support in front of the backline and keeping the numerical advantage.

In a medium block, David Hancko jumped on Lamine Yamal, who tended to draw the latter upward and enable Koundé to dart behind the visitors’ left back. As a reaction, Cardoso dropped back to cover Koundé, whereas Baena joined Hancko, doubling up on Lamine Yamal and blocking the inside passing lane toward Dani Olmo. On the left side, Barcelona attempted to bait Atlético’s forward and break their lines to find Raphinha down the left inside channel. However, Giménez’s aggressive step-outs nipped Barcelona’s attempts in the bud.

Barcelona’s solutions

To decompress Atlético’s defensive integrity, Barcelona manipulated their front lines by working the ball around to move the front players across the pitch. Not only that, but Pedri tended to operate in close proximity to Eric Garcia in order to draw their markers across and vacate the inside channels for Raphinha and Dani Olmo. On the left side, the former dropped and dragged Molina with him, with Lewandowski pinning the center-backs. The telos was to embark on a sprint to punish the space behind and offer Balde a free passing option, or allow the latter himself the opportunity to strike the space behind Atlético’s defense.

12th minute: Eric Garcia tied Nico Gonzalez in the middle of the park to allow Cubarsi time and space to receive. Koundé pulled out Baena, whereas Lamine Yamal stretched the width of the pitch. That unlocked a vertical passing lane between Pau Cubarsi and Dani Olmo. The latter drove toward the byline and cut the ball back for Raphinha to smash it in Giménez’s legs.

Barcelona turned the clash into a numbers game as the visitors committed five players to press high up the pitch, with the rest overloading the Catalans’ front three. This time, Nico Gonzalez ran toward Juan Garcia, with Baena and Alvarez shifting toward Koundé and Cubarsi. Additionally, Giuliano Simeone kept close tabs on Balde, with  Koke and Barrios marking Eric Garcia and Pedri. As a consequence, Dani Olmo was left free to come from high to low positions.

As a response, Lenglet stepped up with Barrios, leaving Eric Garcia free to shut down Olmo on the right side. However, the latter picked out Lamine Yamal, who squared the ball back inside to Eric Garcia. Meanwhile, Lewandowski drew Molina across to enable Raphinha free space to receive. The Brazilian found Dani Olmo running down the right inside channel to cut the ball back. However, Pablo Barrios’ recovery run allowed him to intercept Olmo’s service.

Atlético low block fraitlies

Twenty-six minutes in, the visitors sat in a 5-3-2 low-medium block. Pedri picked up the ball and carried it between Álex Baena and Julian Alvarez. Pablo Barrios jumped onto Pedri without cutting off the passing lane between the latter and Raphinha. Pedri glided a line-breaking pass to Raphinha around Lenglet. The Brazilian dribbled past Jan Oblak and guided the ball into an empty net.

Pedri orchestrating Barcelona’s advanced buildup tipped the scales in favor of the hosts. To elaborate, Pedri instructed Gerard Martin to dart toward the left to draw Julian Alvarez across. In the meantime, Eric Garcia pinned Alex Baena on the right side. By doing so, Barcelona expanded the distance between Atlético’s front two, allowing Cubarsi space to advance. Pedri tended to create separation with Koke and get closer to Eric Garcia to receive Cubarsi’s pass and access the right side, breaking down the visiting team’s front and midfield lines.

29th minute: Barcelona constructed the attack with a three at the back, outnumbering Atlético Madrid’s front two. Dani Olmo tied Pablo Barrios down the right inside channel with Raphinha dropping in. Hence, the Catalans created a numerical superiority around Koke. Cubarsi exploited the space between Baena and Alvarez to prod the ball onto Pedri. The latter accessed Lamine Yamal, who cut inside and fired a shot into Barrios’ body.

Six minutes later, Pau Cubarsi drew Alex Baena forward, and Jules Koundé baited Nico Gonzalez to press. At the same time, Dani Olmo anchored Pablo Barrios down the right inside channel, whilst Lamine Yamal attracted David Hancko’s attention. That saw Atlético Madrid’s lines stretched vertically for Pedri to sneak behind the front line. Nico Gonzalez failed to block off the diagonal passing lane between Koundé and Pedri. Thus, the latter was able to carry forward and set Dani Olmo against Barrios. The former dribbled past the latter, who was forced to commit a foul inside the penalty box.

The Catalans’ upper hand over Los Rojiblancos

Nothing changed in the second half as Barcelona’s advanced buildup kept being a problem for Atlético’s 4-4-2 medium block. After Nico Gonzalez’s substitution, Conor Gallagher took charge of Jules Koundé, with Julian Alvarez stepping back toward Eric Garcia. Dani Olmo tended to drop in the middle of the park to drag Pablo Barrios with him. That saw Lamine Yamal isolated against David Hancko on the right. With Lewandowski holding the center-backs in their places, Barcelona’s winger was able to access the right half-space after leaving Hancko in his wake. Lamine Yamal cut inside and set Raphinha around Molina in the penalty box. The Brazilian squandered an easy chance.

63rd minute: Koundé’s body orientation enticed Almada to move slightly toward the right to block off access toward Eric Garcia. Dani Olmo created separation with Pablo Barrios, positioning himself as a target between the lines. Conor Gallagher shifted across to support the crew. However, Dani Olmo released Raphinha, whose square pass was cleared by Giménez.

One minute later, Barcelona capitalized on Atlético Madrid’s high press and low block woes. High up the pitch, the visitors adopted a man-marking press with Alexander Sørloth cutting off the passing lane between Juan Garcia and Gerard Martin. Enter Pedri to bounce the pass off to Gerard Martin. Dani Olmo dropped deeper with Lenglet late on the follow and was unable to prevent the layoff toward Eric Garcia. The latter supplied the free Koundé, who slid a line-breaking pass to Raphinha down the right inside channel. Diego Simeone’s team was forced to retreat. The hosts worked the ball back inside to Pedri, who sliced through and picked out Olmo. The latter exchanged passes with Lewandowski to penetrate the space behind Giménez and put the ball home.

Long balls to exploit the space behind Barcelona

Barcelona’s 4-2-3-1 high press wasn’t capable of preventing Atlético Madrid from working the ball toward the wide channels. Alex Baena and Giuliano Simone pinned Gerard Martin and Alejandro Balde. As an alternative, Raphinha remained close to Molina with Pedri running toward Giménez and screening Koke. Nonetheless, Pedri’s jump was too late to ward off Giménez’s long diagonal pass toward Gallagher on the left side. Additionally, Lamine Yamal not tracking back Hancko allowed the visitors to generate a wide overload, thread passes, and recycle.

The goal was to move Barcelona’s line across and access the right side, where Simeone’s team had a three-versus-two situation. Molina, as the free option, picked up the ball and clipped it over the top for Julian Alvarez, who galloped behind the Catalans’ backline and looked to chip the ball over Juan Garcia.

Atlético Madrid counted on similar dynamics to the first half to work the ball up top. Going long and battling for the second ball was the go-to plan for Simeone’s players. Eight minutes into the second half, Gerard Martin towered over Julian Alvarez to clear the ball toward the visitors’ left side. Gallagher collected the knockdown and set free Alvarez behind the home team’s backline. The Argentinian striker squared a pass around the penalty area for Giuliano Simeone, who missed a chance to score.

59th minute: Atlético Madrid’s midfielders overloaded Pedri, allowing them to bypass Barcelona’s first and midfield lines. Barrios carried the ball toward the right side, where the visitors generated a three-versus-two situation. That saw Barrios switch the play toward the underloaded side. Hancko, with a backward pass, found Barrios. Pedri recovered the ball, halting Alvarez’s forward intentions.

Barcelona’s quick attacks via Lamine Yamal played in favor of the visitors as the hosts’ backline and midfielders weren’t able to support the front players in case of possession loss. Resultantly, Atlético Madrid had numbers to progress. Still eleven minutes, Julian Alvarez’s nudge unbalanced Lamine Yamal, stripping the ball away from him. As the visitors regained the ball, they took advantage of the numerical superiority to advance and pick out Hancko. The latter prodded the ball behind to Almada, who dribbled past Gerard Martin and Alejandro Blade but failed to put the ball in an empty net.

Takeaways

Both teams attempted to exploit each other’s defensive weaknesses. Atlético Madrid surrendering possession and adopting a conservative approach as usual against Barcelona seemed to be the reason behind Los Rojiblancos’ first defeat after seven victories in a row. For Barcelona, the highline and offside trap’s deficiencies persist, allowing opponents easy access to the large spaces behind the defense. At the end, Barcelona clung to La Liga’s lead before heading toward Sevilla for another test against Real Betis.

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