La Liga: Atletico Madrid 1-2 FC Barcelona: Player Ratings

A detailed, player-by-player breakdown of Barcelona's La Liga strong win against Atletico.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen

6.4

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 45 Passes: 28 Pass Accuracy: 82% Shots Faced: 3 Saves Made: 2 Cross Claims: 1 Bostjan says: 6.5 Making his first ever La Liga start, ter Stegen didn’t look rattled, but at times he did appear a bit uncomfortable, which might have been as a result of giving up four goals in his previous two starts. A clean sheet wasn’t meant to be, but the young German again didn’t make any plays that weren’t straightforward, apart from a late clearance outside of the box. For a sweeper keeper he should’ve been more mobile, and had he been, he probably could’ve prevented Atletico from taking the lead early in the second half.

Sergi Roberto

7.0

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 87 Passes: 73 Pass Accuracy: 88% Key Passes: 0 Turnovers: 2 Tackles: 4 Shots/Shots on Target: 1/0 Clearances: 0 Aerial Duels Won: 2 Interceptions: 1 Bostjan says: 7.0 This was Roberto’s third appearance at right-back this season, but it was probably his "worst". Not saying that the converted midfielder had a bad game, but he wasn’t as influential on the right side as he was during the previous two games. That might have been as a result of a certain lack of Messi in attack, either way, in attack the Spaniard brought little value. Defensively he wasn’t tested much, but when he was, he was effective, as evidenced by his fantastic diving tackle in the 74th minute to stop a dangerous Atletico attack.

Thomas Vermaelen	6.4
Minutes played: 27 Touches: 28 Passes: 24 Pass Accuracy: 96% Tackles: 1 Interceptions: 0 Clearances: 1 Aerial Duels Won: 0 Bostjan says: 6.5 This didn’t take long, sadly. After beginning the season so brightly, Vermaelen was forced off the pitch in the 27th minute with a since diagnosed calf injury. Vermaelen looked good in limited time on the Vicente Calderon pitch, making a couple good plays.

Javier Mascherano

6.7

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 98 Passes: 90 Pass Accuracy: 94% Tackles: 2 Interceptions: 0 Clearances: 3 Aerial Duels Won: 0 Fouls: 0 Bostjan says: 6.0 This will not go down as one of Mascherano’s best games. Often he was too casual on the ball, leading to a few turnovers and he even handled the ball in the area, an offense for which he was not punished for. It wasn’t all bad for the Argentine though, as he also made a few important tackles, but his performance in this one will be remember for his mistakes, not his good plays.

Jordi Alba

7.2

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 77 Passes: 70 Pass Accuracy: 83% Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Tackles: 1 Interceptions: 0 Clearances: 1 Key Passes: 0 Turnovers: 0 Bostjan says: 6.5 It’s been a while since Alba was seen so little during the game. Defensively he had little to do, though it’s surprising how he couldn’t catch Fernando Torres on the opening goal, but in attack he wasn’t quite as effective as we’ve become used to. That being said, one of his passes proved to be key in the build-up to the Messi winner.

Sergio Busquets

7.1

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 73 Passes: 66 Pass Accuracy: 91% Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Tackles: 3 Interceptions: 1 Clearances: 0 Turnovers: 2 Aerial Duels Won: 0 Key Passes: 0 Fouls Won: 0 Sam says: 7.0 Busquets was needed to ensure the pace of Atleti’s front line didn’t harm Barça. While Atlético chances were restricted to a minimum, when they did occur Busquets was routinely there to stop them. Making three tackles and an interception helped Barcelona to maintain a relative level of control in the game. However, Atlético’s goal did come from when Busquets failed to close down Tiago who in turn found Torres.

Andres Iniesta

8.2

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 99 Passes: 92 Pass Accuracy: 85% Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Turnovers: 2 Key Passes: 1 Fouls Won: 3 Tackles: 3 Sam says: 7.5 Iniesta was arguably Barça’s best player in the first half. Picking up the ball from all areas of the pitch, he was constantly looking to probe into the Atlético Madrid defence and create chances. He completed the most passes of any player on the field with an accuracy of 85% and also put in a good defensive performance which was needed against an opposition like Atleti. He didn’t fade slightly in the second half but that can be explained by Messi’s introduction into the CAM spot.

Ivan Rakitić

7.0

Minutes played: 59 Touches: 57 Passes: 46 Pass Accuracy: 89% Shots/Shots on Target: 1/1 Fouls Won: 1 Turnovers: 1 Successful Dribbles: 1 Key Passes: 2 Tackles: 2 Sam says: 6.5 Another quiet game from the Croatian to continue his less then perfect start to the season. Rakitić just hasn’t really got going yet and that was the same in this match. He struggled to have the kind of influence we saw routinely last season. However, he did show some attacking flair managing a shot on target himself and also creating two chances. He was eventually replaced by Lionel Messi on the hour mark.

Rafinha

7.1

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 66 Passes: 59 Pass Accuracy: 83% Shots/Shots on Target: 0/0 Turnovers: 2 Successful Dribbles: 3 Key Passes: 2 Fouls Won: 2 Tackles: 1 Sonia says: 8.5 Rafinha did well this match, he had lots of good runs and passes. He is playing more confidently and Lucho also appears to trust him - when Messi came on, Rafinha wasn’t who came off. He is excellent in dribbling, and works hard at pressing and in defence as well. Cules can be assured that Rafinha will continue to step up and develop and could very well end up as a future star.

Luis Suarez

7.7

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 36 Passes: 18 Pass Accuracy: 72% Shots/Shots on Target: 3/1 Fouls Won: 2 Successful Dribbles: 0 Key Passes: 2 Turnovers: 4 Tackles: 0 Sonia says: 8.5 Suarez was very good and created lots of chances, although had he successfully finished a couple of them, the match may have turned out differently. As it stands however, Suarez’s performance still deserves credit. He was a work horse as usual and showed his tenacity. It was his brilliance and selflessness that created the play that resulted in Messi’s goal. He is a player extremely important to Barca’s attack, second only to Messi, and Suarez certainly showed that.

Neymar

8.3

Minutes played: 90 Touches: 81 Passes: 58 Pass Accuracy: 88% Shots/Shots on Target: 4/2 Successful Dribbles: 3 Key Passes: 1 Tackles: 2 Turnovers: 4 Sonia says: 9.0 With the absence of Messi at the start of the match, Neymar’s role was a little bit freer. As demonstrated in the first half, he should probably learn to pass to players whose names aren’t spelled M-E-S-S-I. Before Messi came on, he was a little selfish, and hardly passed to Suarez at all. However, once Messi was subbed on, Neymar’s playing was noticeably less selfish, although also noticeably biased towards Messi. Although Messi certainly deserves to get the ball, and Neymar is becoming better, he still needs to pass - he definitely has the quality to make killer assists. His quality, of course was demonstrated in his spectacular free kick to the top corner, when he equalised Atleti’s first goal. Neymar dominated Atleti with his skill on the ball, and was solid this match.

Jeremy Mathieu

6.7

Minutes played: 62 Touches: 62 Passes: 54 Pass Accuracy: 93% Clearances: 4 Kevin says: 5.5 Introduced in the 28th minute in place of Thomas Vermaelen. Initially looked solid and was reminding us of his early form last season until foolishly allowing himself to be sucked out of position, leaving a gaping hole at left centre back for old man Torres to run into and slot past Ter Stegen. Performed relatively comfortably for the rest of proceedings but an error like that will not go unnoticed.

Lionel Messi

8.9

Minutes played: 31 Touches: 45 Passes: 30 Pass Accuracy: 100% Key Passes: 2 Kevin says: 8.5 Being forced back to work after a mere 59 minutes of paternity leave is probably against Spanish labour laws - but mercy me, weren't we pleased to see La Pulga walk languidly onto the pitch and grab the game by the balls? Not to say Barcelona were not pushing for the win prior to his introduction, but Messi seemed to increase the urgency ten fold once he became involved. Showed phenomenal acceleration over a short distance to latch onto Suarez' flick that gave Barça the winner, served up a highlight reel caño on Filipe Luiz and then comically skied a free kick deep into the stands of the Calderon. In between these highlights he was beautifully lively and always looked dangerous. Even after all these years, we should still be forced to sit back sometimes and be thankful to Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Diego, Whoever! He plays for us!

The Team

8.5

Passes: 734 Pass Accuracy: 88% Shots/Shots on Target: 13/5 Tackles: 20 Aerial Battles Won: 47% Fouls Won/Committed: 17/5 Sonia says: 8.0 Lucho did an awesome job coaching, benching Messi was the right decision. Messi made the game amazing, although the team was doing well, Messi made Barcelona that much more threatening. Not to forget, he also scored the winning goal. It may not have been the prettiest game, but Barça still scored two goals, won one of that hardest matches away, and came away with three points. Neymar, Rafinha, and Sergi Roberto all had excellent games. Iniesta was also impressive, and does not show any signs of stopping anytime soon. Rakitic wasn’t horrible, but he was nothing like he was last season and needs to step up. Overall, Barca was able to show their dominance, and win even against an Atletico Madrid with the home advantage.

Luis Enrique

8.4

Kevin says: 9.0 Surprised everybody by leaving "you know who" on the bench and giving Rafinha a start. Enrique went with a lineup that was to be expected otherwise. Sergi Roberto was again the right choice at fullback, delivering another solid performance. The heartbreaking withdrawal of Vermaelen had the manager flipping a coin between Bartra and Mathieu with the latter getting the nod. Neither player has really set the world alight of late so that decision was much of a muchness really. The call to unleash Messi in the 59th paid immediate dividends and, perhaps more poignantly, the unexpected withdrawal of Rakitic instead of Rafinha may have been a great decision in the longer term. Rakitic has all but established himself in midfield and deservedly so, but the show of confidence in the manager to keep Rafinha in the game may do wonders for the Brazilian's confidence, topping off a great week after his debut goal with The Canarinho. He and Sergi Roberto were a tight unit on the right side for the remainder of the game. Three tough games,three great wins with a something of threadbare defence and two thirds of a jet-lagged strike force. Top Marks, Lucho!

MOTM - Lionel Messi	44%
Bostjan says: Messi Even when coming off the bench Messi remains the favorite to win the Man of the Match, and the Argentine again did not disappoint. The battle for second place ended with only one vote separating Neymar (23%) and Iniesta (22%).

Source: Bostjan Cernensek http://ift.tt/1OdXfG3