This is Sportstar's match blog of the La Liga encounter between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou.
That's it for today. Thanks for tuning in!
MATCH REPORT |
The goalless draw between the current top-two Spanish teams --Atletico Madrid (77 points from 35 games) and Barcelona (75 points in 34) -- has put Real Madrid (74 from 34 matches) in pole position now. If Zinedine Zidane's side beats Julen Lopetegui-managed Sevilla (70 points in 34 outings) tomorrow night, it will go on top of the 2020-21 La Liga standings.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
AND IT'S FULL-TIME! FINAL SCORE: BARCELONA 0 - 0 ATLETICO MADRID!!!
90+3' CORNER FOR ATLETICO MADRID! Joao Felix is on set-piece duty now. He sends a decent ball into the box but Sergi Roberto makes the crucial clearance with a strong header.
90' Three minutes of stoppage time will be added on at the end of the second half! Barcelona skipper Lionel Messi takes a free-kick and he tests Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak with a brilliant curler. However, the score stays 0-0.
87' After the early domination from Barcelona, Atletico Madrid had the better chances in this game. The second half has been much more evenly poised with the teams pretty close when it comes to the possessional, attacking and passing stats.
84' WHAT A CHANCE FOR BARCA! This was a passing masterclass from Barcelona. Lionel Messi to Antoine Griezmann to Jordi Alba on the left end of the box. Alba sent a brilliant cross into the middle. Ousmane Dembele got a free header but he sent the ball over the post.
81' YELLOW CARD! Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is booked for a deliberate challenge on the substitute Joao Felix, who was initiating a quick counter-attack for Atletico Madrid.
78' FREE-KICK FOR BARCA! Atletico Madrid's Yannick Carrasco makes a tired challenge on Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele to concede a set-piece at a dangerous spot.
75' DOUBLE CHANGE FOR BARCA! Pedri and Sergino Dest make way for Seri Roberto and Ousmane Dembele on the field. A draw today would hand the advantage in this La Liga title race to Real Madrid.
72' ANOTHER ATLETI SUBSTITUTION! Head coach Simeone brings on Geoffrey Kondogbia to replace Angel Correa on the field. Three substitutions and three yellow cards for Atletico Madrid so far.
69' GOAL DISALLOWED FOR BARCA! Jordi Alba sent in a wonderful cross from the left wing. Ronald Araujo got to the ball first and headed it past Oblak into the back of the net. However, the linesman has raised his flag and it's offside.
66' CHANGE! Interesting game for the substitute Saul Niguez today. He came on to replace Thomas Lemar. Now, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has taken him off for a forward -- Joao Felix.
63' ANOTHER GOOD SAVE FROM OBLAK! Lionel Messi takes a corner for Barca. The cross is initially blocked but Messi somehow manages to send another one towards Gerard Pique, who diverts it on target. Jan Oblak shows great reflexes to avert the danger.
60' BOOKING! Third yellow card of the match and the first for a Barcelona player. After fellow substitute Saul Niguez and Felipe, Ilaix Moriba goes into the referee's book for a very late challenge on an opposition player.
57' OFFSIDE! Luis Suarez is a little too eager to get to a ball from Saul Niguez. The linesman raises his flag and the referee awards Barcelona a free-kick. Suarez isn't too happy with the decision.
54' GOOD TACKLE! Angel Correa makes a brilliant run towards goal for Atletico Madrid. He gets into the box from the left wing. But his low cross attempt into the middle is well intercepted by Barcelona full-back Jordi Alba.
51' CORNER FOR BARCELONA! Lionel Messi swings the ball in the middle from the right. Atletico Madrid shot-stopper Jan Oblak comes off his line to punch it away. Felipe makes the final clearance.
48' SUBSTITUTION! It's a change straightaway for FC Barcelona in the final 45 minutes. Forward Ronald Araujo replaces defender Oscar Mingueza in the middle.
THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
Scores level at the end of the first half but FC Barcelona's Marc-Andre Ter Stegen has clearly been the busier of the two goalkeepers in today's encounter. Forty-five more minutes to go. Stay tuned!
AND IT'S HALF-TIME! SCORE: BARCELONA 0 - 0 ATLETICO MADRID!!!
45' Four minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the first half! Atletico Madrid has had the better goal-scoring chances in the opening 45 minutes despite the Barcelona domination.
41' BRILLIANT SAVE! Barcelona captain Lionel Messi works out his magic to perfection, dribbles past several Atleti players and lets one fly from just outside the box. Jan Oblak dives full stretch to his left and manages to get fingertips on the ball.
38' CLOSE! A wonderful cross from the right flank and Atletico striker Luis Suarez diverts the ball towards goal. However, Oscar Mingueza makes a crucial block to avert the danger for Barca.
35' YELLOW CARD! This is the first booking of the match. Saul Niguez brings down Lionel Messi in midfield and goes straight into the referee's book. Free-kick for FC Barcelona.
33' WHAT A SAVE! Marcos Llorente receives the ball from Luis Suarez and takes a first-time shot from the edge of the box. Ter Stegen pulls off a brilliant save to keep the scores on level terms.
31' CHANGE! This will be the second injury substitution of the game. Looks like Busquets has suffered a concussion. He has been replaced by the 18-year-old midfielder Ilaix Moriba on the field.
28' INJURY! Sergio Busquets goes down to the ground after colliding with Stefan Savic. He's bleeding from his nose. The Barcelona medical staff tend to him on the pitch. He goes out, but is fine to continue now.
25' GOOD RUN! Lionel Messi receives the ball and takes it forward for Barcelona. He evades the challenges of a couple of opposition players initially but isn't able to produce a shot on target as too many players block him.
22' FREE-KICK FOR ATLETICO MADRID! Gerard Pique concedes a silly foul. Koke will take the resultant set-piece for Atleti. He comes up with a decent shot but the ball goes over the crossbar.
19' WHAT A CHANCE FOR ATLETI! Carrasco makes a brilliant run on the left flank. He composes himself and sends a low cross into the box. The ball falls to Angel Correa, who tests Ter Stegen with a good shot. This easily could have been 1-0 for Simeone's side.
17' SET-PIECE FOR BARCA! Mario Hermoso with a late challenge on Pedri. Barcelona wins a free-kick in midfield. Long ball into the box and the Atletico defence averts the danger.
14' SUBSTITUTION! Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is forced to make an early change here. Thomas Lemar seems to have pulled a hamstring as he makes way for Saul Niguez in the middle.
12' CORNER FOR BARCA! Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann exchange a wonderful one-two pass and get into the box. But Yannick Carrasco comes to Atleti's rescue as he clears the ball away.
9' FOUL! Gerard Pique brings down his former teammate Luis Suarez close to the box. Suarez himself will take the free-kick. This is a glorious opportunity for Atletico Madrid. But the Uruguayan striker hits the ball straight at Ter Stegen.
6' FREE-KICK FOR BARCELONA! Barca skipper Lionel Messi has been fouled a third time today already. Atleti are clearly targeting him here. The referee immediately awards the Catalans a set-piece.
3' CHANCE FOR ATLETICO! Thomas Lemar receives a pass from Kieran Trippier. He controls the ball well and takes a shot from the edge of the box. However, Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen makes a straightforward save.
AND THE MATCH BEGINS!
The players come into the field and it's time for the toss.
The team lineups are out!
BARCELONA XI: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (G), Oscar Mingueza, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet,Sergio Busquets, Sergino Dest, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Jordi Alba, Lionel Messi (C), Antoine Griezmann.
COACH: Ronald Koeman.
ATLETICO MADRID XI: Jan Oblak (G), Kieran Trippier, Stefan Savic, Felipe, Mario Hermoso, Yannick Carrasco, Koke (C), Marcos Llorente, Thomas Lemar, Luis Suarez, Angel Correa.
COACH: Diego Simeone.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi often spent time hanging out together at their neighbouring homes on the Mediterranean coast when taking a break from scoring goals for Barcelona.
It will be less relaxing on Saturday when Suarez returns to Camp Nou with Atletico Madrid, aiming to inflict a major blow on his former team's title hopes in the Spanish league.
Facing mounting debts and desperate to reduce its payroll, Barcelona sold the 34-year-old Suarez to Atletico on the cheap at the start of the season.
The deal, which could reach six million euros, proved to be a steal for Atletico. While not as mobile as he once was, Suarez’s world-class finishing touch gave Atletico coach Diego Simeone the scorer he had failed to find since Antoine Griezmann swapped clubs for Barcelona.
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Suarez missed the first meeting of the teams in November due to the coronavirus. Yannick Carrasco's goal — and its smothering defense — gave Atletico a 1-0 win that helped it to build an early lead up top in the 2020-21 La Liga standings.
Atletico plays third-placed Barcelona a day before second-placed Real Madrid hosts fourth-placed Sevilla during a weekend that promises to shake up the closest title fight in years. Atletico is two points ahead of both Madrid and Barcelona, while Sevilla is a further four points behind.
Suarez departed Barcelona as its third-highest scorer with 198 goals, behind Cesar Rodriguez (232) and Messi (670). He helped Barcelona win 13 titles after arriving in 2014 from Liverpool, including four Spanish league trophies and the Champions League in 2015.
Messi complained publicly after Barcelona got rid of Suarez, who had wanted to stay. Barcelona took a conciliatory approach on Friday towards Suarez, who scored 21 goals for Barcelona in the 2019-20 season.
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“We were teammates. Today we are rivals. But we will always be friends, Luis Suarez,” Barcelona tweeted along with a photo of Suarez embracing Messi and other former teammates.
Since his move to Spain's capital, the Uruguay striker has become Atletico’s top weapon. He leads the team with 19 goals in the league. “He has met all the expectations we placed on him,” Simeone had said.
Simeone will have to choose from Carrasco, Marcos Llorente, Angel Correa and Joao Felix to accompany Suarez in attack, giving Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman lots to worry about.
“It will be strange for (Suarez), but also for my players. But we are football professionals and each one of them will give it their all,” said Koeman, who is suspended for the match. “We will have to focus on him, as well as the rest of the team that plays behind him. We must think about how we must pressure them to disrupt their attack.”
Atletico will also have a lethal opposition player on its mind as Messi looks to add to his league-leading 28 goals this season.
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