Barcelona‘s tough start to the LaLiga season continued on Saturday as Atletico Madrid beat them 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Thomas Lemar opened the scoring midway through the first half following good work from Luis Suarez and Joao Felix. Suarez added the second against his former club just before the break.
The defeat, which comes three days after Barca lost 3-0 to Benfica in the Champions League, leaves the Catalan club ninth in the league following just three wins in their first seven games.
Positives
At 2-0, it felt like Atletico could go on and score a few more. That didn’t happen in a second half in which Barca dominated in terms of possession, although it felt like Atletico were happy for them to do so. Barca never really looked like getting back into the game.
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Gavi, 17, once again did well, creating Barca’s best chance. And there were more minutes for Ansu Fati off the bench. The 18-year-old, who has just returned following 10 months out, managed another 25 minutes; he will be pushing for a start after the international break.
Negatives
Barca were picked apart too easily in the first half. Individual players could be blamed for both goals, but repeated mistakes in defence come down to systemic errors. Far from improving at the back under coach Ronald Koeman, Barca are getting worse.
This game served to demonstrate the gap between Barca and last season’s LaLiga champions. Atletico eased through the second half.
Manager rating out of 10
5 — Koeman has been handed a stay of execution by team president Joan Laporta, who said before the game the Dutch manager would stay in his job “regardless” of the result against Atletico. But things aren’t about to get any easier, with Valencia, Dynamo Kiev and Real Madrid coming up after the October international break.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 5 — Both Atletico’s goals came from Barca’s poor defensive shape, with Ter Stegen not to blame, but he could have done better to put off both Lemar and Suarez.
DF Oscar Mingueza, 5 — Did OK at right-back, but there were a couple of moments when Yannick Carrasco got the better of him.
DF Ronald Araujo, 5 — Had a really tough time in the first half as he followed Felix around with little joy. Improved after the break by sticking to his position rather than Felix, although a slip on the halfway line almost let Atletico in for a third.
DF Gerard Pique, 5 — Another performance that feeds doubts about whether he can still compete at the top level. Made Suarez look like a youngster at times.
DF Sergino Dest, 5 — A quiet evening for the United States international, who didn’t do much wrong defensively but couldn’t have an impact in attack. In the second half, up against Kieran Trippier and Marcos Llorente, it was impossible for him to make inroads.
MF Sergio Busquets, 4 — Made too many stray passes and didn’t provide the central defenders with the protection they needed.
MF Nico Gonzalez, 4 — A difficult night for the youngster, who was taken off at half-time after being caught out of position in the buildup to both of Atletico’s first-half goals.
MF Frenkie de Jong, 6 — Fairly ineffective in a right-wing role in the first half, which is to be expected given he has never played there for Barcelona. Moved into the middle after the break, but it was too late.
MF Philippe Coutinho, 5 — Missed Barca’s best chance, firing straight at Jan Oblak after good work from Gavi.
MF Gavi, 6 — The 17-year-old was once again one of Barca’s brighter players, recovering from an early booking to produce another mature display across several different midfield roles.
FW Memphis Depay, 6 — Hustled and tried to be creative but had no one to work with in the final third until Ansu came on.
Substitutes
MF Sergi Roberto, 6 — Introduced after 45 minutes as a right winger, eventually dropping back to right-back.
FW Ansu Fati, 6 — In another 25-minute cameo, the young forward had a couple of moments that suggest he is ready to lead Barca’s attack after the international break following 10 months out.
MF Riqui Puig, N/R — Brought on for Coutinho, but the game had already lost its fizz.
FW Luuk de Jong, N/R — Came on at the same time as Puig but was even less involved in the final stages of the encounter.
DF Clement Lenglet, N/R — Replaced Dest for the final five minutes.
