The top match between Barcelona and Atlético Madrid in LaLiga has not resulted in a winner. The teams of Ronald Koeman, who had to be replaced by a suspension by Alfred Schreuder, and Diego Simeone held each other at the same level on Saturday at the Camp Nou: 0-0. The draw brings Atlético to 77 points and the two-point lead over Barcelona, 75, remains intact. Real Madrid, 74 points, can match Atlético Madrid’s number of points if number four Sevilla, 70 points, is won on Sunday evening. At the same time, it is the last chance for the South Spaniards to get involved in the battle for the title. Real Madrid’s mutual result against both Atlético and Barcelona is in favor of the Royal.
Possession in the first half belonged to Barcelona, 65 percent; the odds, on the other hand, were for Atlético. Simeone’s team managed to get the Barcelona defense into trouble, although it lacked precision to reach the halftime signal with an advantageous margin. After twelve minutes, Atlético faced a setback: Thomas Lemar, possibly the best man in the opening phase of the showdown, had to be replaced by Saúl Ñiguez injured.
An impressive solo from Messi, but Oblak’s fingertips prevent an opening goal ??#ZiggoSport #LaLiga # BarçaAtleti pic.twitter.com/QC7Y4wI1Iz
– Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) May 8, 2021
Atlético had a view of the 0-1 after eighteen minutes when an effort by Ángel Correa, after a cross from Mario Hermoso, was changed direction in time by Clément Lenglet. Fifteen minutes later, Barcelona got away well when Yannick Ferreira Carrasco received a brilliant pass from Hermoso and Marcos Llorente shot on goal from his cross. Marc-André ter Stegen prevented a goal with an excellent save. A few minutes later, the Barcelona goalkeeper was again important by turning a shot from Ferreira Carrasco and preventing Luis Suárez from taking advantage of the rebound.
Barcelona, with Sergiño Dest and Frenkie de Jong in the base, made an uncomfortable impression in the first 45 minutes. Koeman’s team had difficulty with Atlético’s way of playing and could hardly cause any danger. Only a genius of Lionel Messi almost caused the game to be unbalanced a few minutes before half time. The star played an inimitable way from the right side towards the edge of the penalty area in the center and his shot towards the right corner was narrowly diverted by Jan Oblak. Sergio Busquets was no longer on the field by then. The routine was too bothered by an aerial duel with Stefan Savic and was replaced by Ilaix Moriba.
Koeman’s team put more intensity into the game after the break, with Ronald Araújo in place of Óscar Mingueza, but not enough to actually get Atlético into trouble. The best opportunities remained for the visitors, who remained dangerous through a shot from Suárez with an outside foot and a dangerous corner from Ferreira Carrasco. Towards the hour, Barcelona bit more away: Oblak reacted well to a header from Gerard Piqué and especially to a free kick from Messi. The Argentinian’s ball passed everyone and the goalkeeper was able to prevent the 1-0 with a sublime save. A hit by Araújo was disallowed a little later for offside.
In the last fifteen minutes, the fatigue of the players of both Barcelona and Atlético was visible. Simeone had already brought Geoffre Kondogbia and Joao Félix into the field, while the home team opted for the entrance of Ousmane Dembélé and Sergi Roberto. Barcelona regularly popped up around Oblak’s goal area, including a dangerous header from Dembélé and a free kick from Messi, but a winning goal could not be forced and therefore the chances of los Azulgrana on a ninth double in club history.