Atletico Madrid 2-4 Barcelona Player Ratings: Lamine Yamal Shines As Blistering Comeback Guides Hansi Flick’s Men To La Liga Summit

Barcelona produced a thrilling second half comeback to get a 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid in the La Liga clash on Sunday. Despite going 2-0 down because of Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth’s goals, the Blaugrana rallied back through four goals in the last 20 minutes, with Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres all scoring to help them get back to the top of the La Liga table.

Barcelona began the game with a hunger to get an early lead, trying to break open the stubborn Atletico Madrid backline with their quick movement. Lamine Yamal dazzled his way into the box in the 5th minute, and hit a shot wide of the post after linking up with Dani Olmo. Nine minutes later, Robert Lewandowski was played in the box by Yamal, but his header went off target.

Atletico Madrid were more than happy to play on the counter-attack, with Julian Alvarez testing Wojciech Szczesny with an attempt in the 21st minute. The physicality and aggressiveness shown by Diego Simeone’s side stopped Barca from playing their natural game, causing some cageyness in the first half. Dani Olmo saw a shot easily stopped around the 42nd minute, before Lewandowski blasted a shot onto the upper bar from inside the box two minutes later.

Atletico made sure to make Barcelona pay for the missed chances in the 45th minute. A sweeping move started by Jan Oblak saw Giuliano Simeone smartly set up Julian Alvarez’s tap-in from close range to help the hosts head into the break with the upper hand.

While the first half might’ve been a physical affair, the match blew open in the second half. Yamal came close to scoring again in the 50th minute, with his emphatic shot darting past Jan Oblak’s goal. The Blaugrana kept pushing for the equalizer, with a short corner routine seeing Raphinha denied by some sturdy defending.

Atletico Madrid, however, stunned Barcelona in the 70th minute when super-sub Alexander Sorloth finished off a quick counter-attack to make it 2-0. Just when it looked like Barca were staring at defeat, Hansi Flick’s side produced a tour de force in the last 20 minutes. Robert Lewandowski pulled one back in the 72nd minute, with a brilliant low strike past Oblak.

Six minutes later, substitute Ferran Torres got on the end of Raphinha’s cross to make it 2-2 with a powerful header. Sortloth had a huge chance to help regain Atletico Madrid’s lead in the 80th minute, but shot his attempt wide from open range. Barcelona badly made him and the hosts pay for that scuffed chance.

It was Yamal, who had been a menace all game long, who saw his deflected shot scoop into the goal in the 92nd minute to help complete the comeback. Torres then completed his brace in the 98th minute to help get a big win to take Barcelona four points clear of Atletico Madrid in the La Liga title race.

Let’s take a look at Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona Player Ratings:

Atletico Madrid Player Ratings

GK – Jan Oblak – 5/10

Oblak made a few sharp saves to deny the visitors, but wasn’t really at his sharpest all game long. Couldn’t react quickly enough to deny either goal. Bit unlucky for Yamal’s goal, but beaten too easily by Ferran for his second.

RB – Marcos Llorente – 6.5/10

The Spaniard was quite the livewire on the right side for his side. He did well to deal with Raphinha, not allowing him that much room to maneuver on the left flank. But Llorente was a bit foul-prone and lacked creative threat.

CB – Robin le Normand – 6/10

Le Normand did a decent job at maintaining his side’s defensive shape, showcasing admirable reactions by popping in with key interceptions and winning duels. But he was caught in no-man’s land for Lewandowski’s goal.

CB – Clement Lenglet – 4.5/10

Lenglet had a tough time against his parent club, not being able to show the kind of assertiveness needed against a rapid attacking force. He made some nice clearances, but his positioning for both of Barca’s first two goals was questionable.

LB – Reinaldo – 4/10

Reinaldo had a nightmare against the tricky Yamal, not really being able to keep him from moving into the key central areas. Worked hard in getting the ball forward, but his defensive work was really poor. Deflected Yamal’s shot into the back of the net for his goal.

RW – Giuliano Simeone – 7.5/10

Simeone was a real engine for Atletico Madrid on the right flank, showcasing tireless energy levels in moving up and down the pitch. He helped out defensively with some diligent work and set up Alvarez’s goal with a clever pass in the right moment.

CM – Rodrigo de Paul – 5.5/10

De Paul was a bit too overzealous into committing into challenges, which caused him to lose a lot of duels and not really keep a lid on Barcelona’s midfield threat. Taken off in the second half.

CM – Pablo Barrios – 6/10

Barrios was a real sturdy figure in the middle of the park for his side, working his socks off into getting into key areas to clear out danger. He made a number of crucial clearances and won back possession quite often too. But his good performance was shadowed by a poor finish, as he made a bad error leading to Ferran’s second.

LW – Samuel Lino – 5.5/10

Lino almost doubled up as a left wing-back to help stop Yamal on that flank. He put some sturdy challenges to help his side soak pressure, but had little threat going forward and couldn’t create anything.

CF – Antoine Griezmann – 6.5/10

Griezmann was not at all problematic in playing a defensive style and having to drop deep to help his side. He was actually pretty impressive with the defensive work in helping his side nail their counter-attacking game well.

CF – Julian Alvarez – 7.5/10

The Argentine forward was a menacing figure on the counter-attacks, using his clever off-the-ball runs to torment the visitors. He was a menace in the final third, making some excellent forward passes and then finishing off the chance nicely to put his side in the lead.

SUB – Conor Gallagher – 6.5/10

Gallagher added way more energy levels to the Atletico Madrid side after coming on, pressing the Barcelona players well. Assisted Sorloth’s goal with a smart pass in the box.

SUB – Alexander Sorloth – 7/10

Sorloth proved to be a menacing figure for Barcelona after coming on, tormenting them with his clever runs. Scored a smart goal from close range, but he also wasted a big chance later in the second half.

SUB – Jose Gimenez – 5/10

Failed to really add steel to his side’s backline, not being able to stop any of the late goals.

SUB – Rodrigo Riquelme – 6/10

Riquelme had quite the uneventful outing in midfield, failing to inspire his side.

SUB – Nahuel Molina – 5/10

Couldn’t really put a lid on Barcelona’s attacking moves.

Manager – Diego Simeone – 5/10

Simeone tactically had a game of two halves. He nailed his approach for the first half, ensuring that his side frustrated Barcelona with their physical approach and counter-attacks. His tactics worked a wonder for the first 60 minutes, but his regressive nature came back to bite him. His players were clearly exhausted late on, resulting in their meltdown.

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Barcelona Player Ratings

GK – Wojciech Szczesny – 5/10

Szczesny had a forgettable outing against Atletico Madrid, being totally outwitted for the Alvarez goal and being caught in a bad position for Sorloth’s effort too.

RB – Jules Kounde – 6.5/10

Kounde had his shaky moments in the game, getting dragged out of position at times. His poor positioning allowed the move for Atletico’s opening goal to happen. But he recovered strongly after that, making some crucial challenges and moving the ball forward well too.

CB – Pau Cubarsi – 5/10

Cubarsi looked nervous dealing with Atletico Madrid’s rapid counter-attacks and their physical style. He was caught out of position for their first and made a few meagre errors after that, losing quite a few duels too.

CB – Inigo Martinez – 7/10

The Spanish defender might’ve been outwitted for the opening goal, but he recovered well from the setback. He helped his side maintain a pretty sturdy backline, coming up with crunching challenges. Set up Lewandowski’s goal with a brilliant pass.

LB – Alejandro Balde – 5.5/10

Balde had a tough time dealing with the diligent Simeone on his side, failing to really make an impact for his side. He was booked for a rash challenge in the second half, and couldn’t really create much either.

CM – Marc Casado – 5/10

Casado lost more duels than he won in the physical encounter, not being able to cope with the intensity of the hosts’ counter-attacks as well. Passed the ball around nicely, but couldn’t create anything notable.

CM – Pedri – 7.5/10

Pedri was a tireless figure in the Barcelona midfield, always running around the danger areas and moving the ball along nicely. He created a number of key chances with exquisite creativity and helped his side dominate the hosts with force.

AM – Dani Olmo – 6/10

Olmo was really smart with his passing and link-up play, being crisp with moving the ball around the final third. Set up a few nice chances, but lacked that real bite with his finishing.

RW – Lamine Yamal – 8.5/10

Yamal was a tormenting factor for Atletico Madrid from the get-go, coming close to scoring a few times in the first half. He came close to scoring with a powerful shot in the second half, before seeing his persistence pay off with a nice goal to help his side complete a comeback.

LW – Raphinha – 8/10

Raphinha took some time to reach his groove, having a quiet first half. But he really exploded after the break to inspire his side’s comeback, grabbing two assists with his clever final passes.

CF – Robert Lewandowski – 7.5/10

Lewandowski was slightly wasteful in the first half, wasting a few big chances. But then he inspired his side’s comeback with an excellent close range finish, giving them the belief to get the win.

SUB – Ferran Torres – 7.5/10

Torres continues to highlight his reputation as a clutch super-sub. He turned up in the perfect opportunities for two superb finishes, an instinctive header and a calm finish past Oblak to help his side get the comeback.

SUB – Eric Garcia – 7/10

Garcia added more protection through the central areas, making a few crucial interceptions to stop Atletico Madrid’s flow.

SUB – Gerard Martin – 6/10

Martin helped add more sturdiness through the left flank, making a few nice challenges in his cameo.

SUB – Ronald Araujo – 6/10

The Uruguayan stopped Atletico Madrid’s late attacks with his reliable defending.

SUB – Gavi – N/R

Manager – Hansi Flick – 8/10

Hansi Flick was not really able to anticipate Atletico Madrid’s approach initially, resulting in his side’s sloppy first half display and them going 2-0 behind. However, his excellent substitutions and key tweaks to the system brought more ruthlessness to Barcelona’s final product and helped them get another huge comeback win.

The Sportsdunia’s Man of the Match for this game goes to Lamine Yamal.

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