Five factors that worked against Barcelona in their 4-4 draw against Atletico Madrid | OneFootball

Barcelona’s 4-4 draw with Atletico Madrid leaves the Copa del Rey semi-final tie wide open heading into the second leg as both teams must start afresh.

The Blaugrana looked set to take home at least a two-goal lead for the reverse fixture, but a collapse towards the death saw Los Rojiblancos level the score once more.

With Atletico Madrid having the home advantage and Barcelona being the slightly superior team, the tie is thus wide open for anyone to progress.

Barça Universal brings you five factors that went against Barcelona last night and resulted in the subpar result.

Poor game-management

The first arena Barcelona fell short in last night was their inability to manage the game against Atletico Madrid well from start to finish and keep their performance spotless.

The Catalans’ display was haphazard with interspersing periods of control and lack of it. The opening minutes when they conceded two goals in five minutes was the best example of the same.

They regained control for the rest of the first half and even dominated the game but slowly let it slip out of their hands after the break, especially after the 70-minute mark.

Barcelona lost control in the late stages. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Lack of efficient finishing

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both ended the night with four goals each, but the Blaugrana had far more chances to score than Diego Simeone’s side.

It was reminiscent of the game between the two sides earlier this season as Barcelona were simply not good enough to take their chances, for they could have easily scored at least seven or eight goals on the night.

Ferran Torres created a lot of threat with his movement as the No. 9 but missed two absolute sitters while Robert Lewandowski also should have had a goal or two more to his name.

Full-backs did not hit the mark

Alejandro Bade and Jules Kounde were tasked with providing width to Barcelona’s attack as they have so many times this season. While the former at least did decently in defence, albeit with a few errors, the latter’s mistakes directly cost Barcelona two goals.

Both Kounde and Balde left a lot of ground behind them when they pushed up in attack and it was clear all along that Atletico Madrid’s plan was to capitalize on the same.

Heading into the second leg, it is one arena Flick must find a workaround to.

Not enough support for Pedri

The lone warrior. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Pedri was again Barcelona’s best and most composed player on the field despite Atletico Madrid’s high-press and he single-handedly ensured the ball stayed in circulation.

Unfortunately for him, he did not have any partner who stepped up as much as he did to take the burden off his shoulders in midfield.

Frenkie de Jong’s performance was good and the Dutchman slowly grew into the game as minutes passed. However, Pedri’s substitution simply changed the game as no player who came on could replicate his impact.

Simeone outclassed Flick with substitutions

When his side had their backs against the wall, Diego Simeone did not delay bringing in fresh substitutes who brought exactly what his side needed. The likes of Angel Correa and Alexander Sorloth tormented Barcelona to no end.

Flick, whose in-game management has been largely superb, failed with his changes last night in many ways.

For starters, he waited too long to make the initial changes. When he eventually did, he brought on players who spoilt the balance of the hosts as Gavi, Fermin Lopez, and Eric Garcia simply did not have it in them to hold off the Colchoneros.

The game screamed out for the likes of Marc Casado, but the youngster never even got close to coming on.