La Liga 2017/18: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Barcelona; 5 talking points

#4. Atletico Madrid were resolute in defence and toothless in attack

Barcelona regained the ball from the Atletico attackers one too many times

Atletico Madrid did have their fair share of chances but their attacking moves lacked the level of intensity needed to break down the Barca defence.

Antoine Griezmann was lively and made a great run and even nutmegged Pique before forcing a save off ter Stegen. But he passed up a chance to free up Correa later on and snuffed a chance to perhaps, extend their lead in the second half. However, their infirmity in attack is also due to the fact that they were always cautious to not let Barcelona break free.

They held their defensive shape well and was never in a situation where they could have been outnumbered. This worked well for a large portion of the game and they were even effective in silencing Messi.

However, if they had piled on the pressure after the goal and went ahead and got another goal, they could have well and truly knocked Barcelona out of the game.