1 XAVI’S MASTER MOVE.
Very high Blaugrana pressure with excellent ball rhythm for the enjoyment of the fans and, on the pitch, of Adama and Alba in charge of conquering their respective band.
Atlético noticed the overwhelm as soon as the ball began to roll and took refuge near Oblak. It was a cramped 1-4-5-1 (1-4-3-3 with the ball) while Cholo tried to find out why the hell Barça seemed so superior in midfield!
The first goal obtained by Carrasco, after unchecking with a final pass from Luis Suárez, hid the problem…briefly. The equalizer/left-footed shot achieved by Jordi Alba, after a pass from Alves, reopened the rojiblanca box of thunder, observing the great dominance of the Blaugrana and the tremendous depth of Adama, constantly fed by Alves in the position of a creative midfielder! A masterful move by Xavi, placing Busquets ahead of the Brazilian to attract rivals (Koke, Lemar) and leave free space for Dani.
2 THE ATLETI CANNOT STOP THE ENGLISH BARCELONA’S RHYTHM.
After the second Barça goal, a clean cross from Adama at the head of Gavi, Simeone changed the system by passing to three central defenders with Carrasco as a false left back. Lifeguard for Hermoso.
With Barça ruling the match -despite giving Joao Félix a chance when Rodrigo de Paul presented it to him-, Atleti succumbed again and again to the Blaugrana’s ‘English rhythm’. Gavi, Pedri, De Jong and Busquets were ‘frontier’ while Alves enjoyed serving balls to the band with speed. In the final stretch of the first act, two key actions came: Lemar crossed but Savic did not turn his neck enough and in minute 42, a foul executed by Alves with an aerial shot by Piqué, to the crossbar!, and Araújo’s final shot against Oblak. The 3-1 was more than a comeback.
3 ALVES YES AND ALVES NO.
Joy and the winning mentality have returned to the Blaugrana dressing room. Dani once again put the fans in his pocket when, in minute 48, Gavi put the ball in the mattress area and Alves broke the 3-1 lead with an imposing right hand, taking us back to those unforgettable afternoons of football enjoyment. The superiority embodied with football and goals.
It seemed like the game was over while, opposite, Atlético made ‘faces’. Simeone reacted with a triple change: Correa/Cunha/Reinildo and advanced defense for a 4-4-2. Barça lowered the intensity (pressure) and lost meters forcing Piqué, Araújo and full-backs Alves and Jordi Alba to work -a lot and well-.
Suárez managed to head in a corner that went to Giménez (Ferran enabled it) and with the 4-2 plus the spaces that Atleti was going to leave behind, Aubameyang onto the pitch.
The Atleti had changed the inertia but had no technical precision. Only push and more hope when Alves gave Carrasco a tackle unbecoming of his experience. Uncertain last quarter.
But from possible suffering we moved on to Barça’s defensive security thanks to the good cohesion of lines, 4+4, and a crowd that was worth eleven supporting their team. Nico, Dest, De Jong, Ferran and Aubameyang defended as the team played: with a pair. There is more level and commitment. It is another Barca.