CHAPTER 254: Barcelona (2) - (1) Atletico Madrid [analysis]

Alternative Title: Into the Quarters………and Espanyol awaits

Positives

• Barça is now in the quarterfinals. The biggest positive point.
• And of course, another win.
• It is now the 8th straight win for Barcelona in all competitions in a row.
• This game was a comeback win.
• Good thing to note is that Barça equalized in a short period after the opposition scored the first (again).
• Bojan scored. And that was an excellent header!
• Excellent cross from Sylvinho for Bojan’s goal.
• Marquez made a goal line clearance in the 1st half.
• Iniesta, very good game. He was the instigator of the second goal, great dribbling and cutting through the opposition’s defense. And Iniesta stepped his game in the 2nd half.
• Gudjohnsen scored the 2nd goal, and he adds up his personal goal tally for this season. He capitalized on the rebound from Busquets’ shot. The 2nd goal was perhaps a being at the right place at the right time sort of goal.
• Barça’s domination in the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half was of the usual Barça master class, passing and possession.

Negatives

• Barcelona found themselves behind the scoreline yet again. And again another goal conceded from a corner/set-piece.
• There were some badly mispasses by Martin Caceres in the 1st half that potentially could have lead to disastrous consequences on the qualifying result.
• There were some chaotic defending from Barcelona in certain moments. One was Atletico Madrid’s break in the 42nd minute in the 1st half, and another instance was when at the beginning part of the 2nd half when after Hleb’s effort did not materialized the opposition rushed to Barça’s goal.
• Bojan’s shot/chance at the 50th minute could have been better. The team could have been ahead at that point.
• The team’s overall performance ain’t exactly great I believe, and they gave away lots of the ball to Atletico. Besides that, Barça was conceding chances for Atletico on Barça’s area (and this happened both in the 1st and the 2nd half of the game).

Post-Game/Quarterfinals preview & thoughts

Now that Barcelona has booked their ticket into the quarters of the Copa, it’s time to think about our next rivals, Espanyol. Another tricky and tough draw, you know that considering all the rivalry and what not this would be a rough affair I think. Good thing about the upcoming matches is that Barcelona do not have to worry about the traveling and fatigue from that aspect, since both clubs are city rivals. So I believe it would be a plus for Pep and the team. In addition, Barcelona will have the 2nd leg at home so that’s another positive factor to take into account. I believe what is imperative is that for Barcelona to progress into the semifinals, they should score some goals at the Montjuic. Get some away goals advantage (as with the nature and tactical implications regarding a cup match). The only thing is that I think that at this stage Guardiola perhaps needs to put in more first team players to get a very good chance for the team to win in either legs. It remains to be seen though, as there’s the league to juggle with as well, so all the tough position that both Pep and Pep’s staff and also the team are in right now. Here’s for winning and good showing. Forca Barça!