Barcelona – Atlético Madrid: Two Birds With One Stone For Diego Simeone (1-2)

Barcelona visited the net only once from a rate of 3.23 as expected goals, giving away the game to Atlético Madrid, which seemed to be in the Catalans’ pocket. A dominant display from Hansi Flick’s men, accompanied by inefficient finishing, cost Barcelona three points and LaLiga’s lead. Atlético Madrid revealed the Catalans’ sorrows by exploiting their vulnerability in defensive transitions.

Tactical analysis and match report by Achraf Lamdarhri.

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Barcelona Hansi Flick has fluctuated between peaks and valleys, tarnishing opponents and outplaying them in terms of score or displaying subpar, feeble, and inferior performances. Without a doubt, injuries were and still are a driving force behind this state of blowing between hot and cold. As a result, the six-point difference with rivals in Real Madrid reaped after El Clásico has been gradually fading away. Not only that, but Atlético Madrid closed the gap to one point with Barcelona and two with their foes in Madrid, with both having one postponed game to play. Therefore, the Catalans might regress to the third spot if things went in the Capital teams’ favor.

Since 2006, Atlético Madrid returned home frustrated, empty-handed from any league away occasion against Barcelona, as they couldn’t upset the Catalans for once since then. The away games against Barcelona turned into a curse for Diego Simeone. Nevertheless, Atlético Madrid might hit two birds with one stone. In case of the win, Simeone would break the knot and dethrone Barcelona from the lead. What a gift Atlético Madrid’s players will give themselves before Christmas if they achieve that long-awaited goal!

Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, and Eric García were the three changes Hansi Flick made to the main eleven that started against Leganes. Iñaki Peña Sotorres held his position between the posts. Jules Koundé, Pau Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, and Alejandro Balde constructed the defense. Marc Casadó joined Pedri in the pivot. Gavi replaced Dani Olmo, and Fermin López swapped positions with Raphinha, who took Lamine Yamal’s place on the right due to injury, with Robert Lewandowski leading the attack.

Diego Simeone started with a 4-4-2 formation on paper. Jan Oblak wore the captaincy armband as a goalkeeper. Marcos Llorente, José María Giménez, Clément Lenglet, and Javi Galán formed the backline. Giuliano Simeone and Conor Gallagher acted as wingers, with Pablo Barrios and Rodrigo De Paul operating as double pivots behind the strikers Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann.

Barcelona tableau exhibition

From the start, Barcelona dominated proceedings, keeping possession of the ball as usual when they faced Atlético Madrid, who opted for sitting in a 4-4-2 medium/ low block and picking up certain moments to press high up the pitch. Diego Simeone never ditched his rituals; however, Barcelona seemed to have the recipe to dismantle the most solid defense in the league.

Firstly, Barcelona immediately took advantage of the numerical superiority in the middle of the park to walk through the visitors’ high block. The hosts playing with three in midfield (Marc Casadó, Pedri, and Gavi) allowed Pau Cubarsí to find Casadó behind Atlético Madrid’s first line of the press. Robert Lewandowski dropped in between the lines to receive Casadó’s pass and switch it across to Balde. As a result, the visitors were forced to move backward.

Barcelona looked like they had a lot in their pockets. Players ahead provided the ball holder with passing options thanks to off-ball movements.

2nd minute: Atlético Madrid defends in a 4-4-2 medium block. Iñigo Martínez lures De Paul to left Pedri and jump over. The latter answers the call, shadow-marking Pedri to prevent access to him. The other alternative is a third-man combination. Marc Casadó sneaks behind Griezmann. Therefore, Pedri is found free down the left-inside channel, having space due to Robert Lewandowski dropping deep and pulling Giménez out of his position. Fortunately, Liorente early intervenes.

Barcelona’s first dangerous chance came from Pedri, who was left free to control events down the channel. Gavi played a crucial part in Pedri’s situation in the pocket as he shifted across to the left, drawing De Paul’s attention. Barcelona switched the play through short passes, with Gavi returning to his initial position down the right inside channel and Koundé running vertically to drag Gallagher with him and create a one-on-one situation for Raphinha against the opposite fullback. Atlético Madrid’s block moved across, with Pedri being free behind De Paul in a horizontal view. Raphinha seized the opportunity to feed Pedri with a lateral pass. Fermin López traveled behind, receiving and crossing the ball toward Raphinha, who came late to attack the back post, but the ball went over his head.

Rodrigo De Paul continued to jump onto Iñigo Martínez, who exploited the gap, sliding passes to Pedri behind. The latter tended to carry the ball between the lines to arrive at the box and set Robert Lewandowski in good locations for shots. The visitors dealt with it; however, Barcelona’s players’ position around the ball and the box enabled them to instantly counter-press to attack again.

In settled possession, the hosts created triangles in wide areas to generate passing angles. With Robert Lewandowski dashing across and manipulating one of the center-backs, Barcelona penetrated the box.

6th minute: Gallagher occupies Jules Koundé, and Barrios takes charge of Gavi in the right-inside channel. Javi Galán engages with Raphinha, which leads to stretching the space in the pocket for Lewandowski to move into. Once the latter settles in, Gavi attacks the space vacated by Clément Lenglet tracking Barcelona’s striker.

The wide triangles served well for Barcelona’s goal to find each other. With Rodrigo De Paul being distant and late, Fermin López and Alejandro Balde could feed the free Pedri who tended to switch to Raphinha when the penetration from the left wasn’t an outlet. Raphinha, crashing the box late, was playing crosses. But they were usually cleared by the visitors.

Out of Possession, Barcelona obligated Atlético Madrid to chip long balls, closing off all passing options that could ease their buildup on the ground. With an out-in curved run, Raphinha and Fermin López pressed the center-backs and mirrored the fullbacks with their shadows. Lewandowski stepped back next to Gavi to man-mark the double pivots, with Pedri and Marc Casadó assuming the responsibility of the tens (Griezmann and Gallagher). Barcelona center-backs covered Julian Alvarez and Giuliano Simeone with Koundé and Balde operating close to the strikers and the tens and ready to jump onto the opposite fullbacks if Jan Oblak decided to target them. The hosts often regained the ball in such situations due to the inaccuracy of long passes.

Nevertheless, when Barcelona returned to defend in a medium unit sticking to their highline strategy, Atlético Madrid looked to exploit the space behind, making use of switches to runners behind.

17th minute: Javi Galan and Gallagher swap positions near the flanks. The first advances, pinning Jules Koundé and the second comes deep to receive and switch the play, clipping a long pass to Simeone who sprints in space behind. At the last second, Iñigo Martínez denies Simeone’s header across toward Griezmann inside the box.

Barcelona reaped the reward of their utter dominance. Pedri withdrew behind the visitors’ low block, spotting Fermin López in the left-inside channel behind De Paul and realizing Gavi’s position beside Giménez. Pedri penetrated the block, combined with Gavi, and arrived at Giménez place (who was dragged by Gavi) to net the ball in the bottom right corner.

Barcelona kept threatening the visitors, exploiting their lateness in the press to find free players between the lines and progress through the thirds. Gavi and Pedri worked around the dropping Lewandowski to receive his first-time passes down the space evacuated behind. In addition, Raphinha and Jules Koundé added another dimension of threat from wide through overlaps to generate crossing situations or to isolate Raphinha against Gallagher or Javi Galan. The Catalans didn’t feel Lamine Yamal’s absence, as Raphinha shined on the right, taking on opponents and supplying players in the box with inswinging crosses.

Atlético Madrid snatch the win

Diego Simeone made some tactical arrangements, swapping Gallagher and De Paul positions. Moreover, he instructed Clément Lenglet to follow Gavi to compensate for the numerical advantage in the middle of the field. As a result, Atlético Madrid’s press improved in terms of intensity, forcing Barcelona to wide options.

On the other side, pressing proved to be a tool for goal-scoring chance creation. Raphinha’s close position to the opposite center-backs offered him the opportunity to collect loose balls and take advantage of high regains.

47th minute: Antoine Griezmann plays the ball back to Giménez, who releases a miscued pass into Raphinha’s feet. Pedri and Fermin López instantly double up on Giménez. So, Raphinha picks out Pedri as the closest free option. Then, Fermin López is in a one-versus-one against the goalkeeper, but he misses the chance.

From an attacking situation in the middle third, Jules Koundé extracted the ball from Julian Alvarez in midfield, and Pedri collected it. The latter set Raphinha in front of goal, sprinting behind the visitors’ backline. The Brazilian looped the ball over Jan Oblak, but it hit the woodwork. Robert Lewandowski followed and couldn’t exploit the rebound.

The punishment came early after Barcelona squandered easy chances. A quick combination between Griezmann and De Paul set Julian Alvarez in space against Pau Cubarsí. Alvarez cut the ball back to Griezmann near the spot, but Marc Casadó cleared it into De Paul, who struck from a distance to tie the score.

Nahuel Molina and Koke came on in place of Giuliano Simeone and Conor Gallagher. That saw the visitors’ shape change to a 5-3-2 medium/low block. Also, the home side made some changes as Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres replaced Gavi and Fermin López, respectively.

Raphinha and Koundé maintained their flow, combining and overlapping each other, with Dani Olmo in the right-inside channel, drawing up Clément Lenglet and moving behind him to receive and penetrate the box.

75th minute: Robert Lewandowski drops short to combine. Koundé’s dummy run enables Raphinha to stay isolated against Javi Galan. Raphinha, with an inswinging pass, picks out Ferran Torres behind Atlético Madrid’s backline near the far post. Torres feeds Lewandowski, who sneaks behind. He unbelievably misses his kick.

Dani Olmo brought the quality of playing, receiving, and laying the ball off between the lines. His off-ball movements were key components for his teammates behind to find him with line-breaking passes to bypass Atlético’s block. His presence between the lines eased the combination and ball exchange to penetrate the box, but the last touch was lacking.

Atlético Madrid said the last word. A missed pass by Raphinha turned into a counterattack as Julian Alvarez picked out Rodrigo De Paul on the right. The visitors were two-versus-two, with Molina coming late down the right-inside channel to receive De Paul’s pass. Alejandro Balde late in the following put Molina in a situation where he crossed the ball to Sørloth who flicked it home.

Takeaways

Atlético Madrid snatched the three points in stoppage time, breaking a curse that lasted since 2006. Diego Simeone overhauled his team to the top of the league before Christmas with a record of twelve consecutive wins in all competitions.

Barcelona tripped to one win in the last seven matches, pushing them down to the second spot, temporarily waiting for Real Madrid, who has two games in hand. Hansi Flick stated that his team should play the way they did against Atlético Madrid, with more efficiency in front of the net. Nevertheless, the defensive transitions were a headache Barcelona couldn’t cure, with more teams finding out solutions to break down their highline.

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