Three takeaways from Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona | La Liga MD30 | OneFootball

The Riyadh Air Metropolitano saw Barcelona and Atletico Madrid lock horns last night in La Liga in what was the first of their three meetings in a relatively short period.

Having just returned from the international break, Hansi Flick deployed a rather queer starting lineup with Ronald Araujo at right-back, Eric Garcia in midfield and Dani Olmo as a false nine.

The opening exchanges saw Barcelona largely on top, but Atletico Madrid soon clawed back and created big openings of their own, even taking the lead via Giuliano Simeone.

A Marcus Rashford equaliser and a red card for the hosts then gave Flick’s side a cushion, one that they struggled to make the most of until the fag end of the game when Joao Cancelo and Robert Lewandowski managed to score the winner and take all three points.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona.

Starting on the right note

To face an elite European opposition three times in ten days is easier said than done, and to do so, hoping to win all three takes up the difficulty a notch.

Last night’s game was the first of the three express meetings between the two Spanish giants, and for Barcelona to start on a win is a massive boost.

Taking to the field away from home, at the same venue where they conceded four goals in 45 minutes not too long ago, the Catalans did well to hold their own. However, Atletico Madrid did not make it easy at any point in the game.

Winning the first of three games against the Madrid-based side gets the team off on the right foot, and places the momentum well on their side.

Lewandowski’s goal sealed the game for Barcelona. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

The importance of last night’s win in the grand scheme of things, thus, cannot be understated.

The next game will see them have the home advantage, and should they win that game too, there will be maximum momentum in their favour ahead of the decisive UCL quarterfinal second-leg.

Atletico Madrid’s luxury

While Barcelona did take all three points and the momentum with a win on Sunday, there was a sense throughout the game that Atletico Madrid did not care nearly as much about the result in the league clash.

They did fight it out with all their intensity on the field, but Diego Simeone made it very clear right from kickoff that it is the midweek UCL game that is his priority.

Simeone placed several starters on the bench at the beginning of the game, including Julian Alvarez and Ademola Lookman. Further, several starters were unavailable due to suspension and injury.

After the hour mark, it eased. Virtually, Atletico Madrid’s B team played against Barcelona, and it simply cannot be ignored how the Catalans struggled to create goalscoring chances against them.

More importantly, in the bigger picture, however, Atletico Madrid managed to hand all their starters for the UCL game a rest to some capacity on the night. Barcelona, meanwhile, had to wear the starters out until the final whistle, given how much the league win meant to them.

Heading into the UCL clash midweek, the rest factor may well play an important role.

A possible title-deciding win

At the end of the day, however, Barcelona will not bother too much about the effort they had to put in to secure the result last night, for it was one of their most difficult remaining away fixtures in La Liga. The result, moreover, means far more to them than the mere three points.

Earlier in the day, Real Madrid dropped all three points to Mallorca, taking a huge blow to their title hopes. The only way for Barcelona to optimally capitalise on that slip-up was to win against Atletico Madrid.

With the three points in the bag, the Catalans now move a staggering seven points clear of Real Madrid in the league standings. Only eight match-days remain in the competition, and that lead is significant.

Given the situation on the points table and how important it was for Barcelona to take all three points against a difficult opposition to get to that situation, last night’s game may well be the match that hands Hansi Flick’s side the league title.

The job is not yet done, but they have taken a massive step towards the same and will now back themselves to go all the way and lift the title beyond doubt.