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Barcelona have gotten off to a great start this season with 7 wins from 7 games, amidst the turmoil surrounding the Catalan independence. They defeated Las Palmas in an empty stadium at Camp Nou in their last La Liga fixture.
Meanwhile, Atletico are unbeaten this season and are playing in their new stadium Wanda Metropolitano. Diego Simeone's side stands at 4th in the La Liga table with 15 points from 7 games. They play Barcelona next in the La Liga at home in the Wanda Metropolitano.
Let's see the 5 reasons why Barcelona will find it hard to beat Atletico Madrid
#5 Atletico Madrid's work rate without the ball is remarkable
Barcelona hold the ball all day and pass and dribble their way into the opponents box to score. This has been their formula for success. Atletico are at their very best when opponents have the ball and try to dribble past their defence.
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Diego Simeone's side is well-drilled for this type of attack as they get numbers in the box, all of whom are well-trained in cutting the passes and dribbles. Atletico players start working more when they don't have the ball, making them a really good defensive unit.
Atletico allowed fewer shots than anyone else in Europe last season. They eliminate space down the middle and will make it hard for Messi and Co. to penetrate their defence. Barcelona forwards will rarely get enough space to create something meaningful.
#4 Tactical and rotational fouling
Managers use these strategies more frequently in modern day football. This will disrupt the game and momentum of the opponents. Atletico's defence is well prepared for this type of play. Simeone's well-trained machine knows all about being clever while fouling.
It's a skill and it should be done in a certain area of the pitch where opponents find it hard to score from a direct free kick.
Simeone's side will not resist using rotational fouling against Barcelona when there is a need and they have done it in the past better than any other team. We have seen Atletico Madrid players taking turns to foul Messi, Suarez and Neymar and escape from referee's book in the past.
Many teams tried this strategy against Barcelona but none of them were successful like Atletico. It takes years to perfect it and Atletico have perfected it masterfully.
#3 Overdependence on Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez
In the absence of Neymar Jr and with Andreas Iniesta out of form, Messi has to do the dual job of creating the goals and scoring them. Whenever they play Barca, Atletico's first tactic is to close down Messi and if no one man can do it, they accomplish it collectively.
Atletico Madrid will throw men into his path and will deny him the freedom to dribble and shoot. Simeone's men usually close down Messi as soon as he gets the ball and never give him any time or space to play freely.
Atletico players crowd centrally when Barca attack from the middle of the pitch, thereby cutting any kind of supply to Suarez. Suarez will have to track back from the box to link up with Messi and therefore, Barca will be reduced to having very few bodies in the 6-yard box.
#2 Hardworking midfielders and agile centre-backs
Barca will find it tough against hardworking Atletico Madrid midfield. Saul Niguez, Gabi, Thomas Partey and Koke work non stop, with or without the ball. In the last season, Atletico Madrid's midfield made more tackles, interceptions and shot blocked than any other La Liga teams against Barcelona.
Playing quick central defenders is the key to stop Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have the players to do that. Simeone's central midfielders provide cover to the defence and his centre-backs provide cover to full-backs.
Simeone has trained his centre-backs, Diego Godin and Stefan Savic, to cover wide areas of the pitch. They go out wide to help their full-backs and have the pace to come back and block the attacks that come through the middle.
Barcelona will have to try repeatedly if they want to penetrate and score past the solid defence and midfield of Atletico Madrid.
#1 Atletico Madrid's ability to counter-attack
The ability of the midfielders to play centrally, and wide will be the key tactic to stop Barcelona. When Barca play through the middle, Atleti's midfielders including the wide players will stay central to provide defensive cover to their centre-backs.
When Barcelona go out wide, Atleti's wide players, along with the central midfielders go out wide to support their full-backs and block passes coming in towards the middle.
As the game goes on and Barcelona players become increasingly tired and desperate, Atletico Madrid will find more and more space to counter-attack. They have a lot of pace in the form of Angel Correa, Antoine Griezmann, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco and Saul Niguez to make Barcelona pay.
