In the standout match of the 16th week in La Liga, Barcelona faced Atletico Madrid away from home and emerged victorious from the Wanda Metropolitano. Ousmane Dembele scored the only goal of the game in the 22nd minute, with one player from each side receiving a red card. When we look at the pre-match line-ups, we see that Barcelona took the field with a 4-3-3 formation while Atletico Madrid took the field with a 4-4-2 formation:
What caught our eye when we examined the starting 11s was this: Although their formation looked like a 4-4-2 on paper, Atletico Madrid started with two players on the right and left flanks (Llorente and Carrasco) who were normally used as wing-backs during the season.
When Barcelona are on the attack, Atletico Madrid, in their starting formation of 4-4-2, meet them in the center of the pitch and apply pressure on them. Barcelona, on the other hand, will use their left-back Balde and right winger Dembele to provide width and look for gaps in the middle. In particular, Pedri, a great midfielder in character, who can carry and distribute the ball well, comes inside while Balde opens up the play, allowing Barcelona to create dangerous attacks. With Pedri and Gavi moving freely between the lines, right-back Kounde comes inside and Barcelona attack in a 3-2-2-3-like formation. When Barcelona move the ball into the final third, Atletico Madrid occasionally switch to a 5-3-2 formation, thus preventing Barcelona's attacking line of 5 (Balde - Pedri - Fati - Gavi - Dembele) from gaining numerical superiority. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I think this is the reason why Carrasco and Llorente are the wingers in the central quartet of the 4-4-2. Both of them have played as wing-backs in a 5-man defense during the season. Simeone must have had this in mind, considering that Barcelona have struggled in games against five-man defenses this season.
Barcelona's goal in the 21st minute was the result one of the aforementioned attacks. Against Atletico Madrid's compact 4-4-2, Balde stretches the play from the left side and Pedri, who plays on the left wing on paper, drops back and receives the ball. The Atletico Madrid players then close the passing lanes to prevent Pedri from distributing the ball, but because the Barcelona players are spread wide, they create a gap in the middle as they try to close the passing lanes. Realizing this gap, Pedri carries the ball forward and delivers the ball to Gavi in the penalty area. Gavi, with a nifty pass, rolls the ball in front of Dembele, who finds the right angle to slot the ball into the net to the right of goalkeeper Oblak.
For Atletico Madrid, Llorente opens up the play on the right side. In the 46th minute Griezmann picks up the ball in the midfield and plays a nice pass to Llorente and Atletico's attack takes shape. Llorente, drifting in from the right, prepares to cross the ball, but Joao Felix, who is the furthest forward, makes a run towards the post, allowing the defenders to follow him and create space for Griezmann. However Llorente is unable to cross the ball and the opportunity can not be taken advantage of.
Atletico Madrid, who started the second half trailing behind, had to move away from their classic defensive style of play and increased the pressure. On Minute 57, Atletico Madrid players were pressing Barcelona in a 4-4-2 system once again, forgetting Ter Stegen's passing ability. Ter Stegen, who had not hesitated to play long throughout the match, plays the ball forward to Dembele. But Dembele keeps the ball at his feet for too long and the position does not result in a goal.
In the 2nd half, we see that Atletico Madrid used the 2-4-4 pressing system as the fullbacks shifted to the midfield and the wings to the attacking line from time to time. However, with Morata coming on, this pressure system was replaced by a 4-1-4-1 system. Morata presses the goalkeeper up front, while the back four behind him press the fullbacks and defensive midfielders.
Towards the end of the game, Savic and Ferran Torres get involved in a very unnecessary "wrestling match" and referee Munuera Montero Jose Luis, who normally avoids giving fouls and cards as much as possible to keep the game flowing, does not hesitate to give a red card and send them both off. As a result, in a way, the score of the match is decided: Atletico Madrid 0-1 Barcelona.
Conclusıon
Even though the away team won the match, the 3 points could have gone to the hosts if Atletico players had made the right decisions during the final passes. It's worth mentioning that Araujo, in particular, cleared a ball off the line in the dying minutes. Still, for Barcelona, the 3 points they gained for the title race were way more crucial than the game itself and they did it in one of the most difficult away matches in the league. Considering that Barcelona have struggled against teams playing with a 5 man defense in La Liga and Champions League this season, this is a golden 3 points for them.
