He was the inevitable choice. Barcelona ended Atlético Madrid’s undefeated streak at the Metropolitano after a year, and it was João Félix who caused their downfall, as expected.
The priciest acquisition in Atlético’s history, the striker who remains under their ownership but is determined to never return and would not be received warmly if he did; the player who was loaned to Barcelona and netted the lone goal in their previous encounter, jubilantly leaping onto the advertising barriers at Montjuïc and sending a kiss to his former supporters in December; the individual who was booed every time he touched the ball during his initial return, but managed to score the first goal. He kept his word and refrained from celebrating this time, but it still hurt.
The initial goal in the first half was followed by two more in the second, one from the impressive Robert Lewandowski who scored and assisted in one, and the other from Fermín López. This helped Barcelona secure a 3-0 win, placing them in second with a gap of eight points from the top spot. This also means that Diego Simeone’s team is currently not in the top positions for the Champions League.
Xavi mentioned that there is no reason we shouldn’t aspire to be in the league. The manager of Barcelona also stated that although Félix has only played 60% of the minutes this season, it was evident that he needed to start on Sunday. He was highly motivated and wanted to make a significant impact, which he did. As a player for Barcelona, Félix has scored nine goals and assisted five, and he expressed a desire to stay in Catalonia.
Unfortunately, when Félix was substituted towards the end of the second half, he was met with boos as the game was already over. Despite their strong start, Atlético’s record had now been broken. They had previously earned 40 out of 42 possible points at the Metropolitano, but this time they were unable to recover from the moment Félix scored the first goal right in front of the fans who, like him, do not want to see him play for their team again. Prior to the game, his plaque outside the stadium had been vandalized and some fans had even burned his jersey.
In the end, Barcelona proved to be too strong and efficient, which was unexpected in the beginning. During the first half hour, Barcelona struggled to gain control of the match, especially after their makeshift deep midfielder Andreas Christensen had to withdraw due to injury during warmups. With this disadvantage, goalkeeper Marc André ter Stegen attempted to bypass midfield and directly target Lewandowski up front. Ter Stegen’s four most successful passes up to that point were all directed towards Lewandowski. However, he also made the worst pass, resulting in a poor delivery and a missed opportunity for Pablo Barrios in the fifth minute.
Each time Félix made contact with the ball, there were audible whistles from the crowd. This emphasized the fact that he had not had many opportunities to touch the ball. By the 30th minute, he had only touched it five times, which was not much different than his teammates on the Barcelona team. Atlético had momentum on their side.
Rodrigo Riquleme, Álvaro Morata, and Nahuel Molina worked together to create an opportunity for the Argentinian team. Morata attempted a shot, but it was blocked. Samuel Lino then passed the ball into the area for Morata, but he was unable to keep control. Molina made a quick move and passed the ball to Lino, but his pass was too strong. However, Lino was able to retrieve it and pass it to Morata, who was positioned at the near post. This caused a defensive player, the impressive 17-year-old Pau Cubarsi, to make a strong intervention.
However, Atlético was not accurate, particularly with Morata’s timing runs, which led to a sudden loss of momentum. In a mere three minutes, Barcelona surpassed their previous performance by tenfold. Although Félix had limited involvement, his contributions proved to be crucial.
Prior to its arrival, Lewandowski had delivered a high-arcing cross to the back post where Raphinha narrowly missed with a header. Cubarsi followed this with a skillfully executed long pass that set up López for a shot, only to be denied by a quick save from Jan Oblak. The Portuguese player then completed a smooth play to break the deadlock and score the first goal.
after newsletter promotion
“Ilkay Gündogan skillfully avoided two defenders and delivered an excellent pass to Lewandowski, who then passed it to Félix to score. Instead of jumping onto the advertising boards, Félix simply hopped from one foot to the other before being surrounded by his teammates. Although López pointed at him, Félix stuck to his word and did not celebrate the goal or point at anyone.”
During the match, Morata missed an opportunity to tie the score and was subsequently substituted at half-time. Memphis Depay and Antoine Griezmann were brought in as replacements. Xavi was also given a red card for the umpteenth time. Shortly after, the team’s lead was increased when Rodrigo de Paul made a mistake and gave the ball away to Raphinha, who passed it to Lewandowski for a precise goal.
Atlético made a determined effort, but Ter Stegen made an impressive double save on shots from Marcos Llorente and Depay. Unfortunately for the home team, things only got worse from there. Gündogan provided clarity with his movement and Lewandowski’s cross allowed López to easily score the third goal. After the match, Félix exchanged jerseys and left the field, where he was met with hugs from former teammates and staff. Félix expressed understanding towards their actions, saying, “They know what happened; the people outside don’t, so I get it. Maybe I’m not the villain.”
Source: theguardian.com
