Barcelona and Atletico Madrid took on each other at Montjuic on Saturday night in La Liga’s table-top clash to decide who finishes on top of the table for the new year.
Coming off back-to-back defeats at home, Barcelona were under pressure to return to winning ways against Diego Simeone. Hansi Flick, however, continued to be unavailable on the sidelines through his suspension.
Barcelona dominated the game from the first minute and pushed towards goal incessantly but only managed the solitary goal in the opening period through Pedri Gonzalez.
Before they doubled their advantage and solidified their position, however, the Colcheneros pulled one back against the run of play and equalised the scoresheet and the visitors stole a late winner.
Barça Universal brings you the player ratings from Barcelona 1-2 Atletico Madrid.
Inaki Pena: 7
The goalkeeper had an abnormally silent first half after Barcelona’s dominant performance and was quite literally unchallenged throughout the period as Atletico Madrid failed to put any pressure in the final third.
Nothing he could do to deny Los Rojiblancos’ equaliser. Made a massive save in the 76th minute but could not stop the winner.
Alejandro Balde: 7.5
A very positive performance from Balde as he constantly pushed high in attack. Relatively free from defensive duties, he combined with Fermin and Pedri to create spaces behind the defence and often found the right crosses.
Inigo Martinez: 7
A mature and seasoned performance from the Basque veteran who was largely unfazed and unchallenged on the night but alert to step up on the few occasions it was asked of him.
Pau Cubarsi: 7
The youngster did not have a whole lot of defending expected of him at Montjuic as the visitors sat back and defended only to break out on the occasional counter. Looked solid on the few challenges forced out of him and was as reliable as ever with his distribution.
Jules Kounde: 8
The right-back stepped up in the absence of Lamine Yamal and provided width down the right flank while also maintaining solid defensive cover. Was solid with his distribution, and link-up play in the final third and looked sharper than in recent games.
Marc Casado: 6.5
The youngster was impressive in the first period, maintaining the cycle of possession and winning the ball back to great effect to prove Barcelona’s midfield dominance.
Uncharacteristically made a poor clearance after the break to gift Atletico Madrid the equaliser to undo all of the team’s efforts.
Pedri: 9
The Canary Islander, yet again, controlled the tempo of Barcelona’s midfield with great precision and was one of the key elements why the Catalans managed to completely outplay Atletico Madrid’s midfield. Was calm on the ball, picking out the right attacking passes and linking up with those around him.
Scored Barcelona’s opener on the night with a wonderful sequence of play as he both created and finished the chance himself with a little help from Gavi.
Only grew in power after the break as he moved to a more advanced role and began playmaking to more effect.
Gavi: 7.5
The La Masia starlet was the surprise in the starting lineup as Flick deployed him in place of Dani Olmo as the mediapunta.
Deploying Gavi as an attacking midfielder worked like a charm as Barcelona has a solid attacking presence with great ability on the ball and thus did not give away the possession with ease.
Gavi may not have been involved in the play as much as his teammates but he made the right runs, excelled even with defensive contributions and recorded his first assist of the season for Pedri’s goal.
Fermin Lopez: 6.5
Starting as Barcelona’s left-winger and taking Yamal’s place in the lineup, the young midfielder brought freshness to the table for the Catalans.
Did not get too many chances in front of goal given his position, and although he often drifted centrally to join in attack, he did well as a pseudo-winger as demanded of him.
Raphinha: 9
The Brazilian international worked tirelessly for Barcelona throughout the night, making runs behind the defence to get into scoring positions and also picking out teammates as a creative source.
He played on the right wing on the night in place of Yamal and did well to replace the youngster as he provided a more direct presence as opposed to Yamal’s trickery and deception.
Missed an easy chance for his standards in the second half as he overhit his shot above Oblak.
Robert Lewandowski: 5
The Polish striker did not have a performance that screamed of his efficiency in front of goal despite the team’s dominance as Barcelona’s chances often fell to runs of second men from midfield.
Continued to be poor in front of goal in his few chances. Missed a couple of sitters in the second half that could have killed off the game.
