Carrasco gives LaLiga a shot

Atlético showed their serious Scudetto candidacy after beating Barcelona in a match decided by Carrasco just before half-time. Simeone has finally managed to defeat Barça in LaLiga and the victory gives Atleti wings. The opposite effect produces in a Barcelona that sees how the rojiblancos lead nine points ahead. The unfortunate news of the match was Piqué’s injury.

Barcelona loaded their game on the right wing where Dembélé gave Hermoso and Carrasco a headache. Simeone placed the Belgian as a false left-back and Hermoso helped Savic and Giménez in the center of the rear. A curious photo of Carraso defending against a footballer like Dembélé. Carrasco has never been characterized by being particularly dedicated to defense, but he had to wear the suit from the start. Atlético, on the other hand, wanted to enter from the right, with Marcos Llorente imposing speed in the last meters. The game started fast, he had a few minutes in which the game tempered and the first half ended with Carrasco’s goal. An action in which the Belgian showed his great tactical level. And in which Correa once again served as an assistant. It doesn’t seem to be there but it always appears.

The start was encouraging for the fans. Griezmann, Saúl and Marcos Llorente were able to score in the first few minutes. Simeone eliminated the players and Koeman put Pedri, leaving Coutinho on the bench. Cholo wanted the ball to be from Barcelona, ​​but the Barça team barely found the space to penetrate. Atlético always feel at ease when it comes to defending and Barcelona attack from the right, from the left, from the center … Both teams had little account of their figures: neither Messi nor João Félix were of decisive importance in the game. When the visiting team quickly printed something, they found a loophole. Messi had it just before half-time, but this time Oblak won. The first serious mistake of the match was by Piqué and cost Barcelona a goal against. In such close encounters, the small details can decide them.

The best thing would have been a draw, but Atlético found the prize they were looking for just when it stopped. Carrasco’s goal, protagonist of the previous match between the two teams played at the end of June, influenced the development of the second half. He gave Atlético balance and Barcelona understood that the 1-0 left them very moved in the league. Simeone’s team wanted to keep the ball, possess for a long time … without giving up the counterattack.

The luck that other times has escaped Atlético smiled on this occasion at the rojiblanco, when Lenglet finished with his head at the hands of Oblak when the tie had already been defined. Moments later came the comedy in which Piqué had to leave the playing field. Correa fell on him and the Barcelona defender left before the deadly silence of the Wanda Metropolitano. It was impressive to see the great Barça central defender almost shout from the rojiblanco stronghold. Piqué is not just another footballer. Neither for Barcelona nor for Spanish football.

Barcelona saw the need to rebuild their pieces while Atlético saw more and more confidence. The Cholo folks knew that if they didn’t make a big mistake, the game would be theirs. Perhaps it is the big difference between this Atleti and that of the other exercises because the Madrid team had possession and the game was more 2-0 than 1-1.

So that nothing was missing from the game, Diego Costa entered his last battle against Barcelona in LaLiga in the rojiblanco fiefdom. Messi threatened a foul with ten minutes remaining. But the fright has passed. The match ended in the Atlético area, with the rojiblancos defending tooth and nail a fundamental victory for the future of the championship.