Another huge week for Barcelona, another game against Atletico Madrid. The sides have already met four times so far this season in league and domestic cup, with two more games to follow over the next week in the Uefa Champions League quarter-finals.
Atletico knocked Barca out of the Copa del Rey over two legs last month, with the damage done in the first-half of the first tie as Diego Simeone’s side surged into a 4-0 lead by half-time.
It was the most stunning first half in Atletico’s home for a month before they went 4-0 up inside 22 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur. In both cases, a win for the visitors in the second leg was insufficient for them to advance, Barcelona winning the second leg 3-0, Spurs 3-2.
Atletico’s reward for overcoming Barcelona was a Copa de Rey final against Real Sociedad on April 18. And for knocking Tottenham out – and being one of three Spanish sides to eliminate England opponents in the last 16 – a Champions League quarter-final against Barca.
The Catalans are favourites though. They have won three of the four meetings so far this term, the most recent being at the weekend, a 2-1 win in Madrid with goals from Marcus Rashford and an 87th minute winner from Robert Lewandowski.
With Real Madrid losing at Mallorca, Barcelona opened a seven-point gap at the top of La Liga with eight games to play. Hansi Flick’s side could retain the title in the 35th match of the 38-game season – at home to Real Madrid on May 10. Atletico are fourth, 19 points behind the leaders.
There’s a lot of football to be played before then, starting with Wednesday's game against Atletico and then Saturday’s Catalan derby against Espanyol. When Barcelona defeated Atletico in the Copa del Rey last month, the game was as notable for the atmosphere as the performance.
The new Camp Nou, which is still a building site, was bouncing despite only 45,000 fans being present including a group of the most vocal supporters who had been excluded from games for over a year. Also, there is tension about ticket prices for Barcelona home games.
The capacity continues to increase as the rebuilt stadium rises and it’s now at 62,000. The players and club have called for a repeat of that atmosphere from the Atletico game and it will be needed.
Raphinha, Barcelona’s best player last season, is injured, as is Marc Bernal, the 18-year-old midfielder who scored two of the three goals in the 3-0 cup win against Atletico.
Barcelona still have Lamine Yamal, though his reaction to Lewandowski’s winner against Atletico on Saturday was odd. He barely celebrated and his coach Flick later put this down to frustration because he tried to score the winner himself against a team who had gone down to 10.
Barcelona were wasteful in attack, including when Yamal sublimely slipped the ball through the legs of Nico Gonzalez and then hit a pass with the outside of his foot towards Fermin Lopez. It was one of the greatest pieces of skill we have seen from Yamal this season.
Barcelona know that Simeone is smart, that he will use any tactic necessary to prevail, that he knows that four Barcelona players including Yamal and Lopez will miss the second leg in Madrid next week if they are booked in the first this week.
Atletico rested strikers Julian Alvarez and Ademola Lookman at the weekend, proof that Simeone sees the Champions League game as the priority.
It’s a big one in a big week for both sides and the winners will play whoever triumphs between Liverpool and holders PSG in their semi-final. But there is a lot of football to play out before then.
