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

#3. Barcelona benefit from the pace off the bench

Valverde's substitutions made the difference

It is fair to say that Valverde got his substitutions spot on tonight. His decision to bring in Deulofeu and Roberto on the right flank instilled some energy and pace into the team and these were visibly lacking in the first half.

This could work well for Barcelona in the future and it is a strategy that has paid dividends elsewhere, especially in the case of Jose Mourinho's Manchester United-- a team that uses pace off the bench to great advantage.

On top of that, Andre Gomes started exerting his influence on the game after the right flank was secured by the fresh legs of Roberto and Deulofeu.

It was Sergi Roberto's delicious ball that set up Luis Suarez for the equalizer.

Deulofeu caused a lot of problems down the right flank and put Atletico on the backfoot. His being a constant threat stopped Filipe Luis from venturing forward and as a result, Atletico Madrid found it more and more difficult to get higher up the pitch in the last 20 minutes or so.