Player Ratings : Atletico Madrid vs FC Barcelona (3-0)

FC Barcelona set up vs Atletico in a way that would delight most fans. Youth sensations like Gavi and Nico started, as well as a more stable defence with Mingueza, Pique, Araujo and Dest. The line up may have looked promising to some, but the gameplay proved otherwise, as two goals from Thomas Lemar and ex- Barcelona striker and legend, Luis Suarez gave Atletico 3 points. Barca dominated in possession with 71%. After a lacklustre first half, Barca changed the system and looked more alive and created more chances, bright spots were shown but they just missed that finishing touch. Barca lost away at the Wanda Metropolitano and gave away 3 points to a serious title contender. Overall, it was a 50/50 match, but we couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had.

Defence

GK: Ter Stegen – 5/10: He couldn’t do much to stop the powerful strikes from Atletico. A decent match, but not impressive.

LB: Dest – 5/10: Predictable in his movements, and he didn’t show any glimpses of his greatness vs Levante in this match.

CB: Araujo – 5/10: After his impressive performances in the last few matches, he strangely dropped form. He let Atleti’s offensive forces breeze past him, with ease. Weak performance from Araujo, but we all know his potential.

CB: Pique – 5.5/10: He tried to do his best against Atletico Madrid, but his best efforts weren’t enough to hold off the Rojiblanco’s attack. He was found struggling in a 1 versus 2 which Atleti were able to capitalize on.

RB: Mingueza – 5.5/10: Wasn’t a great match from him, on both sides of attack and defence he couldn’t offer much. He opened up options for Atleti on their left flank as Felix, Carrasco and even De Paul made some runs through. Offensively, Oscar couldn’t help that much either to impact the game.

Midfield

CM: Nico Gonzalez – 4.5/10: Even though he is quite young and that could be used as an excuse for his unfortunate match against Atleti, he didn’t shine as expected. Lemar and De Paul easily dominated and could breeze past him, poor performance but can improve in the future. Tough night for Nico.

CM: Busquets – 6.5/10: Played really well, considering his age and rough start to the season. He threaded in some nice balls to the attack and even defended at a reasonable level. Good performance from the new Blaugrana captain.

RM: Frenkie De Jong – 6/10: His movement was top notch and used possession quite well. Unfortunately, his great performance didn’t affect the game as it should’ve.

CAM: Coutinho – 5.5/10: His first half performance was poor and looked helpless but looked much better and threatening towards Atleti after the break, but he should’ve scored that chance created by Gavi.

LM: Gavi – 6.5/10: Class performance by the 17-year-old sensation. His energetic and vibrant presence gave Barcelona a dangerous look vs the Atletico defense. But the attack couldn’t capitalise on his spoon-fed chance to Coutinho.

Attack

ST: Memphis – 5.5/10: He was quite wasteful with the chances he received, and he did look lonely due to the formational set up, but he did create quite a few chances.