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Three talking points from Atletico 0-3 Barcelona

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Atletico Madrid v FC Barcelona - LaLiga EA Sports
Photo by Diego Souto/Getty Images

It’s been a good week for Xavi’s side

What now for Joao Felix?

Joao Felix took on Atletico Madrid once again in Barcelona colors and, just like he did the last time the two sides met in La Liga, scored against his parent club in a win for the Catalan giants.

The Portugal international has had an inconsistent season on loan at Barcelona but does seem to relish facing his former employers. His goals mean he’s the first player to score in both games against Atletico since a certain Lionel Messi.

Xavi had called on Felix to step up against Atletico before the match and saw his forward do exactly that. “Joao Felix was very good tonight, with and without the ball. He was very motivated and he made the difference,” said the coach after the game. If only he could do it every week.

But he certainly did it this week, much to the disgust of the Atletico fans. Supporters were filmed spitting on his plaque at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium and burning a replica of his shirt before the game. It doesn’t take much imagination to guess how they felt after seeing him score against their team once more.

Yet what happens next with Felix remains to be seen. Barca surely won’t be able to afford the lofty price tag Atletico will slap on the forward this summer, but at the same time the fans’ vitriol towards Felix shows how difficult it may be for him to play for Atletico again.

Xavi has Atletico’s number

Xavi took on Atletico for the fifth time as Barcelona coach and picked up his fifth win. The Barcelona coach may have his faults, not least his penchant for talking himself into trouble, but there’s no doubt at all that he has got Atletico Madrid’s number.

Don’t forget this was a Barcelona team without Gavi, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Alejandro Balde, Andreas Christensen, Ferran Torres and Joao Cancelo and they were facing an Atletico team who were on a 25-match match unbeaten run at home in La Liga.

Yet that record crumbled as Barcelona scored three times to take away all three points and virtually guarantee themselves a top-four finish. Barca are now eight points clear of Atletico and move into second, two clear of Girona.

Xavi trusted his youngsters again, throwing in Hector Fort (as an emergency left-back) and Fermin Lopez against Atletico and saw both players enjoy themselves in the Spanish capital. There was even time to hand Marc Casado a La Liga debut.

And Barca’s veterans also stepped up. Ilkay Gundogan ran the show, Robert Lewandowski scooped the player of the match award and Marc-Andre ter Stegen made some crucial saves to ensure he’s now gone 403 minutes without conceding a goal in La Liga.

All in all it was a great win for Barcelona and a perfect way for Xavi to sign off against Atletico. There’s no doubt Diego Simeone will be glad to see the back of Xavi when he steps down from his role as Barcelona boss at the end of the season.

Lewandowski has Barcelona dreaming

Robert Lewandowski also deserves praise for Barcelona’s win over Atletico. The striker maintained his excellent form by picking up another goal and two assists. It’s something not many players manage to do against Atletico.

The striker is certainly a man bang in form, as seven goals and three assists in his last nine games shows, and Barca will be hoping he can maintain this level of performance during the business end of the season.

Xavi was certainly thrilled to see his No. 9 leading by example. “It was difficult to progress , because they were man-marking us and we had prepared the third man a lot with Robert. I think he played the best game since he became a Barça player. It’s a time to dream, that’s what I told the players.”

Wins over Napoli and now Atletico certainly have filled the squad full of belief and have Barcelona fans dreaming that a big finish to the season may be possible after all. Certainly, Barcelona will take some stopping with Lewandowski and Xavi’s kids in this kind of form.



Source: barcablaugranes.com

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