Going behind 2-0 earlier than even taking a shot, Barcelona suffered a 4-0 loss within the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semifinal to Atletico Madrid. It is Barcelona’s joint-worst loss to Atleti ever, additionally shedding 4-0 within the Copa Del Rey in 1989 and in LaLiga in 1942. That is additionally the primary time Barcelona trailed by 4 objectives at halftime since August 2020, an 8-2 loss to a Bayern Munich facet within the Champions League, then led by none apart from present Barcelona supervisor Hansi Flick.
Regardless of this loss coming with one other leg to play on the Camp Nou on March 3, it does present that there are areas of enchancment throughout the staff. With out Raphinha, Barcelona’s assault had been unable to maintain up with a brand new look Atleti as enchancment within the second half of play wasn’t sufficient to claw again a outcome.
Whereas Barcelona are nonetheless main LaLiga by a one-point lead over Actual Madrid, struggling but once more with out Raphinha reveals that even with the attacking expertise within the facet, the Brazilian is the important thing cog in making issues tick. Barcelona have a complete of six losses in all competitions this season, and in 5 of those, Raphinha wasn’t obtainable to play, and within the different, he got here off the bench, solely logging 28 minutes. The excellent news is that Raphinha’s adductor pressure is not anticipated to maintain him out of motion for lengthy, however the dangerous information is that that is the third time period that the Brazilian has missed attributable to damage this season.
When the protection and Barcelona’s excessive line aren’t holding the ball out of the again of the online, the assault must be good to maintain up with their opposition. It is a tactical problem that may be papered over when Pedri is within the midfield, however with essential video games arising and a slim lead in LaLiga, tweaks are wanted, particularly with Barcelona being down one other participant in Eric Garcia, who was despatched off with a crimson card.
For Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, Ademola Lookman could have been a transcendent signing. Becoming a member of from Atalanta on switch deadline day, Lookman already has 4 purpose contributions in three matches performed. With the assault needing every part they will get with the Champions League knockouts coming in opposition to Membership Brugge on Feb. 18, with the ability to safe a robust lead within the first leg of the Copa Del Rey will permit Simeone the power to rotate.
With Barcelona having La Remontada, the most important comeback in Champions League historical past, of their pocket, this can be a tie that is removed from over. In 2017, Barcelona defeated Paris Saint-Germain 6-1 within the residence leg of the Champions League spherical of 16 to win 6-5 on mixture, so something can occur on the Camp Nou in March.
