"It's easy to play with this team": Joao Felix seemingly takes cheeky dig at Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid after scoring first goal for Barcelona
Atletico Madrid attacker Joao Felix seemingly took a dig at his parent club's boss, Diego Simeone, after scoring for Barcelona - where he's on loan for the season - on Saturday (September 16).
Felix, making his home debut, scored the opener against Real Betis in the 25th minute of the La Liga clash. There would be no looking back for Xavi Hernandez's side, as Robert Lewandowski doubled the hosts' lead seven minutes later.
There was more misery in store for Betis after the break, as Ferran Torres, Raphinha and Joao Cancelo also got on the scoresheet. It was Barca's fourth straight league win since opening their La Liga campaign with a goalless draw at Getafe last month.
Felix, who was on loan at Chelsea in the second half of last season, had an underwhelming stint in England, scoring four times in 20 games across competitions. However, he has gotten off to a better start at Barcelona, scoring in his second game for the defending Spanish champions.
Following his first strike for Xavi's side, a delighted Felix seemed to take a dig at Simeone's playing style. He said (as per BarcaBlaugranes):
“Very happy to start, the feelings are very good. It’s easy to play with this team. We all played well, when you have a good structure and the ball moves quickly, the spaces open up and the goals come.”
Simeone is renowned for his largely defensive style of play, which arguably inhibits the output and creativity of an attack-minded player like Felix. Having arrived from Benfica in 2019, the 23-year-old scored only 34 times in 131 games across competitions for Atleti before falling out of favor with the boss.
How have Atletico Madrid and Barcelona fared this season?
Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have had contrasting starts to their 2023-24 campaign. While Atletico (7 points) have won two of their four games to occupy the seventh place in the La Liga standings, Barca (13 points) are top of the pile but have played a game more than second-placed Real Madrid.
Simeone's men opened their campaign with a 3-1 home win over Granada before drawing 0-0 at Real Betis. Atletico Madrid returned to winning ways in the next match - winning 7-0 at Rayo Vallecano - but slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Valencia on Saturday.
Meanwhile, after opening their title defence with a goalless draw at Getafe, Barcelona beat Cadiz 2-0, won 4-3 at Villarreal, and 2-1 at 10-man Osasuna before walloping Betis at home.