La Liga 2019/19; Barcelona 2-0 Atletico Madrid: 5 Men who made the difference for Barcelona

Modified Apr 07, 2019 15:29 GMT

FC Barcelona v Club Atletico de Madrid - La Liga

Barcelona hosted Atletico Madrid in a top of the table clash in the La Liga on Saturday and the home side emerged as comfortable winners, beating the visitors 2-0 with goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.

The first half of the match was very feisty and competitive as both Atletico and Barcelona were creating chances. Jordi Alba hit the post early on, while Diego Costa headed his effort over the bar. But the game-changing moment was the red card given to Costa for his aggressive reaction towards the referee.

The match completely changed after that as the Blaugrana started to assert their domination on the proceedings. The second half of the match saw Ernesto Valverde make some attacking changes and the home side left it late to beat Atletico Madrid.

Around the 85th minute, Luis Suarez opened the scoring for the hosts after he struck a brilliant hit past Jan Oblak from at least 20 yards out. A minute later, Messi doubled the lead with a trademark goal to give Barcelona an 11 point lead at the top of the La Liga table.

Let's have a look at the 5 men who were instrumental in the win.

#5 Malcom

The Brazilian came on for Arthur Melo in the 63rd minute of the match as Barcelona were finding it difficult to unlock that Atletico Madrid defense. As soon as Malcom came on, the Blaugrana seemed to have some new-found energy in their attack and started pilling up numbers in the opposing half.

Malcom had a shot saved by Oblak after Messi's deflected effort found the Brazilian and his half-volleyed effort was well saved by the Slovenian.

The 22-year-old looked very dangerous cutting in from that right-hand side and he put some dangerous crosses into the box. This was another brilliant cameo from the Brazilian and he is making a habit of doing it after coming off the bench at Nou Camp.

#4 Jordi Alba

It was another brilliant performance from Jordi Alba, who showed just why he is regarded as one of the best full-backs on the planet. His attacking play on the day was devastating and his off the ball runs made life very difficult for Santiago Arias.

Alba hit the post for Barcelona early on after he made a typical run from the left side, in behind the defense and Messi picked him out with a brilliant pass. The Spaniard took a brilliant touch but his finish could only hit the post. However, it was his assist to Luis Suarez which opened the scoring for the home side.

The 30-year-old has been giving consistent performances for a while now and no wonder why he is regarded so highly by Ernesto Valverde

#3 Gerard Pique

This was another commanding performance from Gerard Pique at the heart of the Barcelona defense. He was brilliant at the back for the Blaugrana and kept Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa quite on the day.

Until Costa's stay in the game, the Spaniard was bossed by Pique and just couldn't escape the clutches of the Barcelona defender.

After Atletico went down to 10 men, Pique ventured forward more than usual and his passing was up to the mark again. Pique is having a great season so far and it was another performance in which showed why he is one of the finest in his position around the world.

#2 Luis Suarez

Another match, another goal for the veteran Uruguayan; who is making a habit of scoring crucial goals for Barcelona. He scored the equalizer against Villarreal recently and he broke the deadlock against Atletico Madrid. Luiz Suarez was brilliant throughout the match and his link-up play with Messi was a delight to watch.

The goal itself was brilliant as Oblak was looking unbeatable on the day for Atletico. The Uruguayan got the ball at the edge of the box, took a touch and slammed it into the bottom corner to score his 20th league goal this season.

#1 Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi has become the player with the most wins in the history of La Liga beating Iker Casillas's record with 335 wins. Also, his goal against Atletico meant that he has now scored in six consecutive games for the Blaugrana.

The 31-year-old was absolutely brilliant on the day and he was pulling all the strings for Barcelona in attack. His stunning defense-splitting pass to Alba in the opening minutes nearly led to a goal and he was consistently testing Oblak throughout the match .

His goal also was a typical effort from him after he took the ball on the right side in space, surged into the box, beat some defenders and calmly slot it into the bottom corner. The Argentine is in surreal form right now and showcasing why he is the best in the world every week.

Edited by Aayush Kataria