Atletico vs Barca : Rating Barcelona’s performance at the Wanda Metropolitano
By Zoheb Alam
Barcelona suffered more humiliation on Saturday as they were handed a 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano. Two first-half goals from Thomas Lemar and Luis Suarez were enough for the hosts to claim all three points against the Catalans.
For now, Barcelona have slipped further to eighth place in the league table and are now scheduled to face Valencia at home later this month. Let’s take a look at the player ratings from this game:-
Barcelona player ratings-
Marc Andre Ter Stegen(Goalkeeper) – 5/10
The German couldn’t really do much to stop the goals and was left reeling by his poor defence.It was another bad day for the goalkeeper as he saw his side suffer another defeat.
Ronald Araujo(Defender)-6/10
Araujo was probably the only positive for this Barca backline as he made some crucial tackles for his side. The Uruguayan defender did his best to stop the Rojiblancos attack from piling more misery but was unable to stop the leak at the back.
Gerard Pique(Defender)-4/10
Another poor performance from the Barca centre-back as he was unable to fix the loopholes in the backline and was partly responsible for the goals. Also, the defender was spotted having a go at Sergio Busquets after the second goal and hence it was an unpleasant sight for the travelling fans at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Sergino Dest(Defender)-5/10
Didn’t have much to do defensively and was largely invisible in the final third. The youngster will need to pull his socks up for the upcoming fixtures this month.
Oscar Mingueza(Defender)-5/10
Mingueza did everything in his stride to stop the breach at the back but was unsuccessful. Also,the defender had a bad game and hence will need to improve his performances in the Barca Shirt.
Sergio Busquets(Midfielder)-5/10
Was brave enough to try and defuse this Atletico attack. However, things did not go according to plan for the Spaniard and hence it was another forgettable night for the defensive midfielder. He did try to stitch some passes in the final third but was not able to do so.
Frenkie De Jong(Midfielder)-5/10
The Dutchman tried his best to contribute upfront and was seemingly close to scoring for his side.Besides few half-hearted attempts,there was nothing good about De Jong’s performance.
Nico Gonzalez(Midfielder)-5/10
The youngster was fairly average against the Rojiblancos as he wasn’t unable to support the midfield. To an extent, the player did give his best efforts to create an impact on the pitch but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the Blaugrana outfit.
Phillipe Coutinho(Winger)-5/10
Like his teammates, the Brazilian, too, had a mediocre day on the pitch. But on a positive note, we did see some good attacking movement from the former Liverpool forward. He came close to scoring in the first half but was denied by an excellent save from Jan Oblak.
Gavi(Attacking midfielder)-5/10
This youngster probably needs more game time to fulfil his true potential. On Sunday, the midfielder was decent, to say the least as he showed a good urge to create chances in the final third. However,there were no clear cut opportunities provided by the player and hence it was a lacklustre display from his end.
Memphis Depay(Striker)-6/10
Was singlehandedly creating problems for the Atleti backline. Had almost bullied Stefan Savic in the final third. Sadly, there was no final product from the former Lyon forward.The Dutchman was the rare positive from this defeat.
Substitutes
Ansu Fati(Forward)-6/10
Spent the last 25 minutes on the pitch with an optimistic approach in this depleted Barca attack. Looked lively in his short cameo and had tried to put the Atletico backline under pressure.
Ricky Puig(Midfielder)-4/10
No impact.
Clement Lenglet(Defender)-4/10
Didn’t do much at left-back and was ineffective in his brief appearance.