Barcelona had Lionel Messi to thank – once again – as they recorded a 2-1 narrow victory over Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon. The win helped the Blaugrana leapfrog Real Madrid into top spot for the time being with Los Blancos playing later in the night – Zinedine Zidane’s side have a game in hand too.
Rafinha opened the scoring for the visitors in the 64th minute but Atleti captain Diego Godin equalised only 6 minutes later. It was that man - Messi - who bailed his team and manager, Luis Enrique, out once again as he scored the winner in the 86th minute bundling home from close range from a free-kick that he only took at the halfway line.
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Here are the talking points from the game:
#1 Mathieu injury adds to Barcelona’s woes
Barcelona have been struggling this season and whether that is down to their fragile defence or Luis Enrique’s lack of tactical nous is a debate for another day. However, with full-back Aleix Vidal already sidelined for a lengthy period, the news that Jeremy Mathieu has suffered sprained ankle ligaments further adds to the the woes of the Blaugrana.
In a few weeks time, they will be facing Paris Saint-Germain at Camp Nou in what is surely a do or die game for Lionel Messi and co. as they will look to overturn a 4-0 deficit from the first leg – a task never been accomplished in the Champions League. They could have done with Mathieu in the side to help with the fixture congestion if not something more significant.
Barcelona are also without the services of Javier Mascherano and Arda Turan – who are nursing various injuries.
#2 Atletico Madrid’s title dreams are over
Diego Simeone’s side looked to be out of the title race as curtains came down on 2016 following the horrific start that Los Rojiblancos had to the season. However, a turn of fortune with the arrival of 2017 saw them go on an unbeaten run of 8 games – out of which they won 6 – and looked to be inching towards the top 3.
The 2-1 defeat to Barcelona leaves them 9 points adrift of the leaders and if Madrid win their game then Atleti will find themselves 10 points off the top. So with that loss, any hope that the Vicente Calderon outfit had of mounting a late title challenge is all but over.
#3 Rafinha has a knack of making crucial contributions
Rafinha opened the scoring for the away side in the 64th minute after the Atleti defence failed to deal with a Suarez shot. However, before and after the goal the Brazilian had a very quite game – he can also be termed as a passenger for most parts.
However, the 24-year-old has a habit of being in the right place at the right time and the same was evident when he was the first to react to Suarez’s shot which had ricocheted off two Atleti defenders and was there to be tucked away in the home side’s box.
#4 Messi cannot bail Barcelona out forever
He has been doing that for over a decade and he will continue to do so for the foreseeable future but a team such as Barcelona should not be so over-reliant on Messi, especially when they boast of world-class players in their squad in the form of Luis Suarez, Neymar, Andres Iniesta to name a few.
Ever since the 4-0 defeat against PSG at the Parc des Princes in the Champions League, Barcelona have won their 2 league games with the same margin of 2-1 with the diminutive Argentine netting the winner in each case. He has scored numerous pivotal goals to bail his team out this season.
Last season, it finally looked like Barcelona were coming out of Messi’s shadows but this season has proved that they have never been so reliant on the little magician.
#5 Atletico were made to pay for missing chances
Lionel Messi might have won Barcelona the match but the true man of the match was Diego Godin, who put in a brilliant display as he marshaled the Atleti defence which successfully choked the deadly MSN – for most parts of the game. The Atletico Madrid then pulled his side level in the 70th minute, heading home from Koke’s free-kick but that was not before he had missed a good chance in the opening 5 minutes of the game.
In fact, he was not the only one to have missed the chance to put Diego Simeone’s side ahead, with Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco also fluffing their lines in close situations which finally came back to haunt the Vicente Calderon outfit.
The outcome of the match could have been hugely different had Atleti converted any of the clear-cut chances they created in the first half, rather than allowing Barca the freedom to claw their way back into the game.
