Barcelona 1-0 Atletico Madrid: Blaugrana Player Ratings as Joao Felix bags winner against parent club | La Liga 2023-24

Barcelona attacker Joao Felix came back to haunt his old club as the Catalan giants beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 in La Liga on Sunday, December 3.

Xavi made just a single change from the lineup that beat Porto 2-1 midweek in the Champions League. Inigo Martinez made way for Andreas Christensen in central defense. The visitors, meanwhile, named an unchanged lineup from their 3-1 win over Feyenoord in the UCL.

It was an end-to-end first half that saw both teams create plenty of chances. Atletico had an effort cleared off the line early in the game by Ronald Araujo from Nahuel Molina's effort.

Barcelona continued to apply pressure and eventually broke the deadlock, with Felix opening the scoring. He latched onto Raphinha's through ball before calmly chipping the onrushing Jan Oblak to make it 1-0.

The Blaugrana began the second half well, with Raphinha hitting the post and Felix squandering a good opportunity. Atletico Madrid then began to get more into the game but found it hard to get by Inaki Pena in the Barcelona goal. In the end, Xavi's side escaped by the skin of their teeth to win the game 1-0.

The win saw Barcelona (34) cut the lead to Real Madrid and Girona (38) to four points. Atleti, meanwhile, are three points behind the Catalan side (31) but have a game in hand.

Barcelona Player Ratings

Inaki Pena - 7/10

The youngster deputized well for the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen and produced three saves overall to help Barcelona keep a clean sheet.

Jules Kounde - 6.5/10

A solid outing for Kounde on the right side of defense.

Ronald Araujo - 7/10

Araujo produced a good outing in central defense alongside Christensen. The Uruguayan cleared an effort off the line early in the first half. He finished the game with four clearances, one block and one tackle.

Andreas Christensen - 6.5/10

The Denmark international did well to help his side keep a clean sheet.

Joao Cancelo - 6.5/10

A quiet outing for the full-back who did not contribute much going forward.

Frenkie de Jong - 6.5/10

The midfielder had a mostly quiet night against Atletico.

Ilkay Gundogan - 7/10

Gundogan was a lively threat for Barcelona for most of the game. The German was crisp and active with his passing and finished the game with three key passes, five accurate long balls and one accurate through ball.

Pedri - 7/10

Pedri put in a typical energetic outing for the hosts. The youngster finished with three key passes and two dribbles completed before being taken off late in the game.

Raphinha - 7.5/10

A lively outing for the Brazilian. He set up Joao Felix's goal with a smart through ball in the first half and almost made it 2-0 himself, hitting the post in the second half.

Joao Felix - 8/10

Felix put in a great performance against his parent club. The Portugal international began on the left side of attack and scored with a calm chip over Oblak. He finished the game with two shots on target, one key pass and one dribble completed.

Robert Lewandowski - 6/10

An unusually mediocre outing for Lewandowski who failed to register a single shot on target.

Substitutes

Lamine Yamal - 6/10

The youngster came on in the 77th minute for Raphinha and had an opportunity to put the game to bed but had his shot deflected wide.

Ferran Torres - 6/10

Torres came on for the goalscorer Felix in the 77th minute but was unable to make much of an impact.

Fermin Lopez - N/A

The youngster came on late in the game and did not play enough minutes to merit a rating.