UEFA Champions League: Barcelona 2-1 Atletico Madrid - Tactical analysis
In the first Champions League clash since the passing of Johan Cruyff, it was the Dutch master’s former club Barcelona who came away with a 2-1 first-leg quarter-final victory over Atletico Madrid thanks to a well-taken brace from Luis Suarez.
Diego Simeone’s visitors played the majority of the tie with just 10 men after goalscorer Fernando Torres was sent off following two bookable offences, and although Los Colchoneros struck first, they wound up chasing the game at the Camp Nou.
Luis Enrique’s Barca took their time to find the back of the net but they will feel happy enough to have come away with the win after having been shut out for so long. Now, let’s examine just how the Catalan side managed to extend their win streak over Atleti to seven games for the first time.
Ten-men of Atleti border on top defensive display
Obviously, the visitors wouldn’t have wanted to see one of their best players shown a red card at such a key stage so early in the match, but it sort of forced their hand to an extent.
With 11 players on the pitch, they looked rather dangerous in attack and were able to fashion a few chances through Antoine Griezmann as well as driving forward with purpose thanks to Yannick Ferreira Carrasco.
Out of necessity they had to sit back once, the red card was brandished by referee Felix Brych, overcrowd the final 20-25 yards and look to frustrate a normally fluid Barcelona attack. In the end, it didn’t work but they certainly made life difficult for the Blaugrana for extended periods.
Normally operating with a high press where possible, they weren’t allowed to use that tactic minus Torres and that really hampered their ability to keep their opponents at bay, as well as they, could have.
What’s more, without a focal point at the opposite end of the pitch they couldn’t pull Barca's defence out of shape. On the flipside, they were able to overpopulate the one area the home side normally thrive in – the 18-yard box.
With little space to manoeuvre around, Enrique’s team had to try and find little pockets of space, and they were left vexed for a long time.
An industrious effort at the back consisted of some determined closing out of the space, a willingness to get up in the faces of Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic.
Time and again, they rushed out from deep to screen the passes and they weren’t afraid to get stuck in with some clattering challenges either. It worked for large periods of the game and, combined with a cynicism that involved time-wasting, it allowed them to stay ahead until the 63rd minute.
Overall, it wasn’t the result they had gunned for, but considering the position they were in for the final hour of the match, they should be proud of their defensive efforts.