Kieran Trippier 6; Marc-Andre ter Stegen 4, Lionel Messi 5: Atletico Madrid v Barcelona player ratings

Atletico's first La Liga win over Spanish giants for ten years

• 

  ATLETICO MADRID RATINGS: Jan Oblak 7 – Did his job well when he faced Lionel Messi in a one-on-one situation from a tight angle. He stayed on his feet and smothered the ball low to his left. Also saved comfortably from a Griezmann header. AP

• 

  Kieran Trippier 6 – Linked well with Llorente on the right-hand side and was a danger on the overlap, his crossing ability troubling Barca’s back line. AP

• 

  Stefan Savic 7 – Looked extremely solid alongside Gimenez. Together they snuffed out Griezmann and restricted Messi to one major chance all game. Reuters

• 

  Jose Gimenez 7 – The visitors struggled to find a way past him. He gave away a free-kick in a dangerous area with ten minutes left, but luckily it amounted to nothing. AP

• 

  Mario Hermoso 7 – His passing ability perfectly suits Atletico’s style; on two occasions he turned defence into attack quickly with a single through ball. Getty

• 

  Marcos Llorente 7 – Was one of Atletico’s most dangerous attacking outlets as he enjoyed space on the right. Was substituted, but more than played his part. Getty

• 

  Koke 7 – Was a key player early on but was booked, which left him under pressure. However, he still managed to control the middle, and also spread the play well… Carrasco and Felix on the left enjoyed his service. EPA

• 

  Saul Niguez 7 – Had a great chance to open the scoring inside the first 15 minutes but his effort struck the bar. Was a formidable barrier that Barcelona struggled to break down. Getty

• 

  Yannick Carrasco 7 – Had a busy night on the left-hand side at both ends of the pitch. His neat flick deceived an advancing Ter Stegen to enable him to score the winner into an empty net from distance on the stroke of half-time. AFP

• 

  Angel Correa 8 – Played a fabulous pass to Carrasco for the opening goal that completely caught out Ter Stegen, and was unplayable at times. AP

• 

  Joao Felix 7 – Another good performance from the Portuguese youngster, who is fast becoming the star of La Liga. A good outlet who caused Barca problems with his movement and dribbling ability. Getty

• 

  SUBS: Diego Costa N/A – Was a typical nuisance after coming on. He’s definitely lost his edge, but he caused more problems than Griezmann and Messi combined in his cameo. AP

• 

  Thomas Lemar N/A – Came on and got forward but his positional sense let him down at key moments. AFP

• 

  Geoffrey Kondogbia N/A – Added some physicality in the middle to try and close the game out and did his job well. AFP

• 

  Felipe N/A – Came on in injury time so hardly had a chance to get a kick. Getty

• 

  BARCELONA RATINGS: Marc-Andre ter Stegen 4 – Kept Barcelona in the game early on with a superb save and a flying dive to his right from Carrasco. However, he then lost his head on the stroke of half-time, coming way out of his area only to miss the ball and leave an empty net for Carrasco. AFP

• 

  Sergi Roberto 5 – Was stretched at times and often left his teammates exposed. Came close with an effort late on. AP

• 

  Gerard Pique 5 – Started confidently and made an outrageous pass across his own six-yard box, but alongside Ter Stegen was also at fault for the opening goal; Pique leaving his keeper stranded with a heavy touch. Was also guilty of leaving Lenglet exposed at times. EPA

• 

  Clement Lenglet 5 – Poor positional sense put Barca’s defence under pressure, but he once again displayed his excellent ability on the ball. Had a good chance to level with a header in the second half. EPA

• 

  Jordi Alba 5 – Lost the ball a lot but carved Atletico open with an incisive pass to Messi. Struggled against Koke and Saul. AP

• 

  Frenkie De Jong 5 – Displayed tidy feet despite being pressed whenever he had the ball. However, he was too slow in possession and this affected Barca’s tempo. EPA

• 

  Miralem Pjanic 6 – Started well and looked assured alongside De Jong. He was always looking for the probing pass in and around the Atletico area. AFP

• 

  Pedri 4 – Looked lost on the left-hand side and couldn’t get into the game at all, which Atletico looked to punish. Was replaced by Coutinho. EPA

• 

  Lionel Messi 5 – Had a great chance five minutes before the break but, after delaying his shot, he couldn’t find a way past Oblak. Not his best game. AFP

• 

  Ousmane Dembele 6 – Had a lot of space on the right hand side but his final ball sometimes let him down. Looked dangerous when he got in behind his man. AFP

• 

  Antoine Griezmann 5 – Fizzed an early effort over the bar and found attacking opportunities few and far between thereafter. Made a crucial clearance in his own box in the second half. AFP

• 

  SUBS: Philippe Coutinho 5 – Came on in a deeper role as he played in a pivot alongside Roberto, and struggled to make an impact. AFP

• 

  Sergino Dest 6 – Was unlucky not to start the game given his recent form, and he came on in a central position to replace Pique. Did well given the circumstances. EPA

• 

  Martin Braithwaite N/A – Once again looked poor when he came on. Didn’t offer Barca any presence in the final third. AFP

• 

  Machado Trincao N/A – Did very little when he came on. Only played seven minutes, but didn’t do enough to try and change the game. AFP

Atletico Madrid pulled off their first La Liga win over Barcelona in more than a decade as Yannick Carrasco capitalised on a blunder from goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to secure a 1-0 victory at an empty Wanda Metropolitano.

Belgian winger Carrasco broke the deadlock at the end of the first half, pulling off a classy backheel to knock the ball through the legs of Ter Stegen and keep his composure in front of goal after the German had charged out of his area.

Lionel Messi had won the fixture last season with a late solo goal but the Barca captain had a match to forget this time, creating very little danger and appearing hesitant in front of goal.

Barca's former Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann missed the target in each half while defender Clement Lenglet had their best chance when, unmarked, he could only send his header straight into the arms of keeper Jan Oblak.

The win moved Atletico up to second in the standings, level on 20 points with leaders Real Sociedad, while Barca are down in 10th place with 11 points after a third defeat in eight league games under Ronald Koeman.

"A team like Barca cannot afford to concede a goal like that," said the Dutchman.

"It was our fault, it's not good and we can't let something like that happen again."

The Catalans' pain was compounded by the sight of defender Gerard Pique limping off the pitch in tears after a challenge from Angel Correa.

A club medical report eased initial fears that Pique had torn knee ligaments and said he had strained them, meaning he will be out for about six weeks.

Barca's players had come out for the game wearing T-shirts in tribute to their teenage striking sensation Ansu Fati who recently underwent knee surgery and they were also missing midfield anchor Sergio Busquets, a veteran of the fixture.

Atletico were without joint-top scorer Luis Suarez, who was deprived of a reunion with his former side after testing positive for Covid-19, while midfielders Hector Herrera and Lucas Torreira were also unavailable but they well deserved their victory.

Marcos Llorente nearly gave Atletico an early lead when his shot crashed off the bar, while it took a brilliant save from Ter Stegen to keep out a vicious distance strike from Saul Niguez.

While Barca had their chances to level, Atletico comfortably saw out the victory and coach Diego Simeone punched the air when the whistle came to signal his first league victory over Barca since he took charge of Atletico in 2011.

"It was our turn to win today but it won't change our objectives," said the coach.

"We knew exactly how we needed to play and that we would have to work as hard in attack as in defence."