Atletico Madrid - FC Barcelona | La Liga Matchday 19 | Sat Jan 11th, 2013

The game is exactly what everyone expected it to be like.

Yep, exactly what I expected.

I liked Masche/Pique performance wasn't all bad and Valdes as well. Messi did whatever he could did have two good chances and created a lot in this game. Overall a little disappointed with the rest at times we held the ball too long when we should've taken a shot.

Surprise, surprise, Masche and Pique actually defended. It looked like Pedro was the only one doing anything in attack in the first half. Messi started to show up more once Neymar was in. VV is MVP for us this season, PERIOD.

Was disappointed by Alexis and somewhat by Cesc. Xavi and Iniesta seamed like they were 70% of their usual self. Alves was not really allowed to contribute attacking wise, perhaps he could have done better. I am always scared with Alba playing against tough opposition, and he did not do much to change that opinion.
Busi i think was ok. Had some poor touches in beginning, but otherwise he was his usual average self.

Pique was fantatic. And Busquets.

our defense did well overall, we stopped them from getting into good positions, despite it looking like we did it desperately.
as everyone else said Sanchez and Cesc were invisible, Iniesta had a good game for me, had some very well crosses and passes shame he got slightly injured.
the moment Sergi Roberto came in i knew this game was done and over.

Nice to see that we have finally remembered how to defend, if we can do this in the CL we have a very high chance of winning it. AM are an immense side, this was a very good test for our team, we won't face many better sides this year, only Bayern are better then them in my opinion.

We need a CF exactly for these kind of games. No way you're going to combine through the middle where Atleti have 276 bodies deployed.

A fit Messi + Neymar might have also changed things I guess. With Iniesta going off and Messi and Neymar both not exactly looking ready we had no one beating defenders though.

Disappointed with Alexis. He goes completely invisible in these kind of tight space games.

Awful game plan from Tata, and also the lineup.

We were totally overrun, atletico had more players everywhere all the time.

Predictable game plans for both teams.

Atlético playing similarly to how they played in Supercopa. A very effective hybrid between high pressure and park the bus that works well against teams that build up slowly. Pressure on set pieces so Barcelona can't start from the back, and quickly retreat at their own half if pressing fails, at times defending with 11 men and showing fantastic work rate. Once in their own half though, they regenerate energy by keeping the middle of the park clogged up. They didn't actually sweat much once they switched to defending deep.

Both coaches playing with plenty of caution and not risking much. The players were told not to make ambitious attacking moves and put defence in higher priority to attacking. I don't remember any memorable overlapping run from either fullbacks, despite the space being there (and plenty of it). Martino had encouraged his wingers and fullbacks to cross whenever given the chance, adding a degree of unpredictability to their attack. Despite his attackers' lack of height, they did create a few chances from such plays.

Diego Costa: You can see why Diego Costa is drawing comparisons to Suárez. Apart from their physical work and the intensity they display, they both have underrated close control and great feet to get past defenders and create danger from wide positions. Not to mention both show signs of thuggery quite consistently

Xavi: When it comes to big games, Xavi is really past it. The guy takes forever to make a pass and when he does he makes the safest decision. Along with Busquets, the Barça vice-captain has been their most inept player in attack for a good few years now - against teams that defend compact such as PTB teams.

Alves: Woeful performance from the Brazilian fullback. Clearly not fit, made a handful of defensive errors while contributed almost nothing in attack. Last but not least, if you want to see Messidependencia, Alves would be the guy to watch. The guy is constantly looking for Messi in the pitch and almost ignoring the other players who may be in a much better position than the Argentine.

Neymar: Of course it will be knee-jerk to criticise Neymar after an illness/heartbreak. But it seems to me that Messi's shadow is too conquering for the Brazilian to let the him play freely with his instincts. A couple of times he got into a good position had the chance to take on his marker and cause some havoc but scarily made a poor and overly ambitious pass to Messi. Not good enough.

Men of the Match for me are Arda Turan and Mascherano. The Argentine for his much needed aggressiveness in a match like this, and Turk for his superb link up plays, composure and technique.

free_cat wrote:Awful game plan from Tata, and also the lineup.

We were totally overrun, atletico had more players everywhere all the time.

I agree. This draw is on Tata's head. He should of went with a different line up, and if that just wasn't possible for some reason not known to us then he should of made changes sooner. For example, Cesc and Alexis were awful, yet they stayed on longer than they should of.

I too would of gone with a different lineup consisting with Messi as the starter but we also do not know how the player feels or looks in training.
I believe if we had Messi in the first half we would of walked away with a goal or two.
that brief moment when we were completely controlling the game would of been a good option but Alexis and Cesc were practically gone, Pedro was the only one doing anything as a forward.
once Iniesta got the injury we went slowly downhill.

Cesc was shit. I want to bash my face against my TV anytime I see we elect to use him as a false 9. Yes he scores from time to time and gets the assist here and there, but vs the elite teams his slow, bad first touch play, unable to dribble past great defenders game just isn't gonna cut it. He should play behind a striker in the midfield, thats his best use.

I hate to say it, but I would of rather seen this if we just simply couldn't use Messi or Neymar to star the match...

-------Busi
---Xavi----Cesc
Pedro--------Iniesta
------Alexis

Nemar on for Iniesta and Messi on for Alexis at half

Or maybe not, I don't know what the *bleep* anymore

You can play whatever lineup you want. As long as your gameplan is the "Cruyffian way" of 70 % possession and 90 % passing accuracy it changes very little. Fast transitions will be nonexistent, Atletico will get 11 men behind the ball at all times and we'll score 1 goal in 3 games against them.

We played 2 very different formations in 2 halfs. Cesc false 9 with Pedro and Alexis on the flanks. Then Messi false 9, Cesc AM and Neymar-Pedro on the flanks. Changed very little. If at all, we became worse in the second half after Iniesta got off.

Happy with the result.Will probably be our toughest game of the season in the league.
Not a great game from us but we kept a clean sheet which was unexpected.
Its difficult to say whether Messi starting would have made a difference.But considering the circumstances,a draw is an ok result.

To all of you saying he should have started messi I only want to say its stupid to risk his recovery for short term gains. How has playing 30 minutes against Getafe proved that he was ready to start vs the most aggressive team in the league? If something happened to him we would all be calling for Tara's head. Messi needs to be gradually introduced as per the rate of his recovery, and Martino and his staff are the best judge of that. Not based on whether we can win the next match or not - that's what made his injuries last so long in the first place.

As for the game I only managed to watch the last 30 mins but I agree that it was very predictable. The sergi sub surprised me and I thought it was a mistake. We've always struggled vs teams that park and press so the result came as no surprise. Tata's 'diversifying of the play' doesn't seem to be as effective vs park the bus teams as we were promised. Pique and Masche our best players.

was very late at night here and missed the game...Still happy with the draw because i thought its not easy win there. Even before Simeone took charge we often struggled.. (cant forget 3-4 loss)
I had been reading somewhere in match report that Simeone had a tactics to stop Busquets usual movement and that was well executed controlling our attack....can someone shade some light on this....was it the reason he was subbed??

Busquets played the full 90 minutes, perhaps he did thats why I believe Xavi stayed back a more often.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:To all of you saying he should have started messi I only want to say its stupid to risk his recovery for short term gains. How has playing 30 minutes against Getafe proved that he was ready to start vs the most aggressive team in the league? If something happened to him we would all be calling for Tara's head. Messi needs to be gradually introduced as per the rate of his recovery, and Martino and his staff are the best judge of that. Not based on whether we can win the next match or not - that's what made his injuries last so long in the first place.

As for the game I only managed to watch the last 30 mins but I agree that it was very predictable. The sergi sub surprised me and I thought it was a mistake. We've always struggled vs teams that park and press so the result came as no surprise. Tata's 'diversifying of the play' doesn't seem to be as effective vs park the bus teams as we were promised. Pique and Masche our best players.

Agreed on Messi.

A friend of mine kept saying that we ought to have started both Messi and Neymar. I am unsure of Neymar's fitness but I believe if he were fit he would have started. As for Messi, starting him against the most aggressive team in the league in a game like this is not an appropriate way of returning from a long injury, regardless of whether he feels or is 100%.

I think overall it was not a great performance. However, as Alex has provided, some perspective is needed. This is a draw against one of the toughest teams of the year at their stadium where they are unbeaten this season (I believe). They are a very physical side and a very athletic one and they are probably the best equipped team to counter us, as well as a very good manager with a specific game plan against us. A point is taken and we did not give them many chances either- our defense looked quite good for most of the game.

I just wish that last move with that beautiful Busquets pass to Dani Alves had culminated in something. Would have been a brilliant way to end the game.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:To all of you saying he should have started messi I only want to say its stupid to risk his recovery for short term gains. How has playing 30 minutes against Getafe proved that he was ready to start vs the most aggressive team in the league? If something happened to him we would all be calling for Tara's head. Messi needs to be gradually introduced as per the rate of his recovery, and Martino and his staff are the best judge of that. Not based on whether we can win the next match or not - that's what made his injuries last so long in the first place.

As for the game I only managed to watch the last 30 mins but I agree that it was very predictable. The sergi sub surprised me and I thought it was a mistake. We've always struggled vs teams that park and press so the result came as no surprise. Tata's 'diversifying of the play' doesn't seem to be as effective vs park the bus teams as we were promised. Pique and Masche our best players.

Atletico Madrid are the toughest team we're going to face this season, in terms of closing spaces and defending deep. They've done better than Chelsea and Inter combined!

We had very few chances [although with a fit Messi from the start we should have created more]. I'm not worried, with Tata we're defending and attacking much better than last 2 seasons. I believe in February-March when UCL matches start again, assuming Messi+Ney stay fit, this team will be at their peak, we should go far in the UCL and hopefully win it!

CBarca wrote:

BarrileteCosmico wrote:To all of you saying he should have started messi I only want to say its stupid to risk his recovery for short term gains. How has playing 30 minutes against Getafe proved that he was ready to start vs the most aggressive team in the league? If something happened to him we would all be calling for Tara's head. Messi needs to be gradually introduced as per the rate of his recovery, and Martino and his staff are the best judge of that. Not based on whether we can win the next match or not - that's what made his injuries last so long in the first place.

As for the game I only managed to watch the last 30 mins but I agree that it was very predictable. The sergi sub surprised me and I thought it was a mistake. We've always struggled vs teams that park and press so the result came as no surprise. Tata's 'diversifying of the play' doesn't seem to be as effective vs park the bus teams as we were promised. Pique and Masche our best players.

Agreed on Messi.

A friend of mine kept saying that we ought to have started both Messi and Neymar. I am unsure of Neymar's fitness but I believe if he were fit he would have started. As for Messi, starting him against the most aggressive team in the league in a game like this is not an appropriate way of returning from a long injury, regardless of whether he feels or is 100%.

I think overall it was not a great performance. However, as Alex has provided, some perspective is needed. This is a draw against one of the toughest teams of the year at their stadium where they are unbeaten this season (I believe). They are a very physical side and a very athletic one and they are probably the best equipped team to counter us, as well as a very good manager with a specific game plan against us. A point is taken and we did not give them many chances either- our defense looked quite good for most of the game.

I just wish that last move with that beautiful Busquets pass to Dani Alves had culminated in something. Would have been a brilliant way to end the game.

They're very strong at home...

Atletico's record at home this season: 13W 2D 0L. Goals: 45-9.
Both draws against Barcelona (1-1, 0-0).

Would you guys say this was Pique's best performance in 2 years? I thought we were watching his 2010 form again.

Atletico's record at home this season: 13W 2D 0L. Goals: 45-9.
Both draws against Barcelona (1-1, 0-0)

Sweet jesus that's a crazy stat

And yes, I would say that was one of the finest Pique performances I've seen in a long time. I hope this is a sign that he is back to what he can/should be

I was specifically dissapointed with the right wing. Both Alexis and Alves were bad. Especially Alves should have done much better in the final moments when he got the ball in their area. Other than that our CBs were amazing and if we had fit Messi and Neymar it would have been a different game overall

Why is people saying we defended great? that's not really true, we defended as usual. Atletico just failed to score their chances (Turan's, Costa's, Villa's) and thankfully for us a couple of 1v1 were wrongly called offsides.

Poor game in attack and OK in defence (at our usual level).

I think it's time we talk about the elephan in the room and how uninfluential was Xavi in this game. Did nothing in attack, had more missed passes than ever, even dispossesed a few times. Absolutely invisible defensively. It's really time from him to leave way for new blood.