Atletico Madrid advanced to the clubs first ever Semi Finals of the UEFA Champions League with a 1- 0 home win on Wednesday night at the electrifying Vicente Calderon in Madrid.
Atletico came out firing on all cylinders from the kick off. Their high pressure was too much for the slow out of the books sloppy Barcelona starting 11. Barcelona carelessly gave the ball away, again and again. I could not believe how slow they were playing. Turning without checking their shoulders and just getting stripped of possession extremely easily. I give full credit to Diego Simione for his world class tactics, making it very uncomfortable for their opponents to settle down and control the game. It wasn’t really until the 30th minute that Barcelona really started dominating possession and create some decent chances.
Koke scored the game’s only goal in the 6th minute started from a shot from David Villa that fired off the post after sloppy defending from the Barcelona defenders. His shot was then recovered and crossed into the box and a poor clearance lead to an open back post tap in by an unmarked Koke. From this moment on in the game Atletico and the Vicente Calderon were collectively rocking; creating a gladiator like atmosphere. The fans without a doubt gave Atletico a huge boost.
Atletico who were without two of their star players this season, leading goal scorer Diego Costa, and Turkish playmaker Arda Turan were both sidelined due to injuries. But Diego Simeone's side thrived offensively in their absence. The tactics layed out by Diego Simeone were absolutely world class. He knew that if his side could keep it close in the way they did in the first leg then the crowd and atmosphere provided by the Atletico fans would prove to rattle the Catalonia’s. He went about this by sitting back in the first leg and trying to counter attack when possible. When Diego Costa came out after 20 minutes in the first leg Atletico had to stay extra strong in the back. Diego his replacement came on playing as an attacking midfielder. His long shot away goal that ended up in my opinion shaping the result and favor of the tie shows just how confident the players of Atletico are under Simeone. Full credit to Diego Simeone after this result and his continued success. Nobody saw Atletico doing what they have done before the start of the season.
For Barcelona, it’s a disappointing end to the European campaign and for the first time in seven years Barcelona has failed to reach the Semi Final stage. From the start of the match the players did not look motivated what so ever. This is one of my main problems with Tata Martino. How is the club supposed to trust you moving forward if you can’t even motivate your most experienced players and leaders? Inestia looked out of the shape of things on his 500th appearance for the club. Messi walked around the field for 90 minutes and missed two chances he should normally be putting into the back of the net. Messi has not been the same this season. He only ran 1.5KM more than goalkeeper Pinto which is a shocking statistic. If it’s a fitness issue or his mind is focused in Argentina and the World Cup than that is something that should worry the club. Neymar, Xavi and Alba were the best players on the night for Barcelona and were the only players showing real urgency and trying to do something positive.
The consolation of La Liga remains, though, with Barcelona just one point behind leaders Atletico with six matches to play, the league title could very well be decided by the last game of the season where the teams will collide at the Nou Camp. Even though there are only six games remaining I am fearful for Barcelona because we have showed already that we have the capability to lose against some of the weakest opposition in La Liga. There still remains a chance for Barcelona and Tata Martino to complete the double. That being the Copa Del Rey and La Liga. It will be debated whether or not that will be enough for Martino to keep his job. For me if the opportunity arises for Barcelona to capture Roberto Martinez I believe we should seize his abilities and bring him to the club. He has shown everywhere he has gone that he his tactically as good as anyone in the business with clubs with the lesser resources: Wigan, Everton. No matter what Barcelona win or lose at the end of the season, a meeting needs to happen with the leaders of the club coming together. Serious changes need to be made. The transfer ban given by FIFA as well as the Neymar transfer scandal sums up Barcelona's current standing as a club. It is just unacceptable, and the fans deserve better. There is a school of thought around football that you learn at FC Barcelona and La Maisa but the likes of Chelsea 2012, Bayern 2013, and now Atletico 2014 are learning how to effectively counter the Tiki Taka system. Things must change at FC Barcelona.
Full credit from Atletico after the tie. They were the better team. They wanted it more on the field, Diego Simeone out-coached Tata Martino by a mile and overall I felt the result was extremely fair. Going forward, Atletico would strive with a tie against Bayern Munich, as they have taken a turn and switched from a quick attacking style Pep Guardiola’s Tiki Taka that he has become famous for. Under Pep Guardiola they haven’t been as prolific in the Champions League with attacking fire power. Against Chelsea, as they play almost the same style; although Atletico are a more complete team and have a world class striker unlike Chelsea, so there is no reason why Atletico can't beat Chelsea over 2 legs. The one team Atletico will not want to get drawn against is Real Madrid their inner city foes. Real Madrid has already proven this season that they can beat Atletico at the Santiago Bernabéu and tie Atletico 2-2 at the Vicente Calderon. So overall regarding the Semi Final draw for Atletico I think you would like your chances against either Bayern Munich or Chelsea. Looking forward to another few weeks of great football...
Cheers and all the best, Aaron
Barcelona Player Ratings; Pinto 4, Alves 4, Bartra 5, Mascherano 4, Alba 6, Busquets 4, Xavi 6, Inestia 3, Cesc 4.5, Messi 3, Neymar 7.5
Atletico Player Ratings; Courtois 8, Juanfran 7, Miranda 9.5, Godin 9, Felipe Luis 9.5, Tiago 7, Gabi 8, Koke 8.5, Raul Garcia 8, Adrian 8.5, David Villa 9.5
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