Barcelona is one of the favorites for the Champions League, which ends from the first place for the moment, and is a joy of seeing again, however, Hansi Flick has disorders.
The objectives of Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo in the 2-2 draw with Atalanta won 28 goals in their 8 games, six more than any other team, but 20 league groups admitted less than their thirteen objectives.
This is for this young Barça team: their 3 attackers of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Yamal are a constant risk: they reach the other end and have entered an opposite position to Atalanta.
Atalanta are the benchmark for teams that are organised without the ball, so they were always going to prove challenging.
The few groups that in the past have tried to mark this team in Barcelona, adding Bayern Munich, separated thanks to Pedri’s brightness and the previous 3. But Atalanta attached to her arms, marking the Spanish guy and her midfielder, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong from early.
Pedri and Gavi changed positions sometimes, but those of Gian Piero Gasperini were disciplined.
Barça attackers were content to wait for the ball and hit Atalanta at the counter. His first adjustment was in the 11th minute when an interception of Jong fell with Gavi, who played Yamal. The young man cut the internal score and wrapped his shot largely.
The move prompted Barca’s front three to play with their back to goal more often, drawing Atalanta’s defenders out of position. In the 27th minute, Yamal dragged Davide Zappacosta forward to receive right-back Jules Kounde’s pass and played it into Pedri, who found Lewandowski.
Atalanta’s centre-backs did not know whether to close Lewandowski down or stay back given the positioning of Yamal and Raphinha. This gave the Poland striker time and space to feed Yamal, who cut inside and shot straight at goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.
A few moments later, Lewandowski lacked again, forcing Atalanta’s defenders to get out of position, Koundé acting a race that was discovered through Yamal.
Yamal then showed his intelligence when he entered before converting his direction temporarily to lie to Zappacosta and get the Kount pass. The resulting cross for Lewandowski has been erased.
Barcelona had understood what they had to do to create opportunities. During the prevention time in the first half, Raphinha fell into a central position to get the ball, before Gavi and Kounde’s clever short gave Brazil to shoot, with a forced action from Carnesecchi.
At the halfway point, the Catalans used this to advance in the 47th minute thanks to their 3 before.
Raphinha and Lewandowski fell deeply to drag their markers with them.
As left-back Alejandro Balde fired a pass into Lewandowski, Raphinha turned the other way and sprinted past his marker.
Lewandowski slipped Raphinha in with a perfect, first-time pass.
Raphinha then discovered Yamal, who passed the ball from Carnesecchi and Sead Kolasinac to score.
Raphinha then set up Lewandowski, who failed to get his feet in a position right in front of the goal, while Yamal forced a clever save from Carnesecchi. Atalanta rightly equalised in the 67th minute thanks to a slim attack from Ederson.
While Barcelona understood things in attack against the fly, Atalanta had disturbed its background with a transparent plan.
Barça hire several players to force groups into tight spaces on a wing, because when they win the ball, they have the numbers to attack immediately. On the other hand, it meant that Atalanta had spaces to exploit if they were the first to lose balls and won more silvers. Barça won only 26% of their silver on the night.
In the minute, Zappacosta played a pass in front and ran forward.
Barca intercepted, but Pedri gave possession back just as they were committing players forward. The entire right side failed to spot Zappacosta’s run and the former Chelsea wing-back was found by a ball over the top.
Zappacosta then attempted to set up striker Mateo Retegui, with Balde sticking a foot in and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saving the goal-bound deflection.
In the 13th minute, Détagui hung from an undeniable pass on Carneecchi and the Argentine origin striker ran into the hole among the central defenders of Barça. His upper angle shot was szczesny.
Barça’s tendency to be separated in the 35th minute. While Atalanta played a pass inside, from Jong tried to fill the area between Araujo and Eric García.
The starting midfielder’s motion meant that he could react to the pass while it is achieved retagado.
Atalanta crowded the box to force 4 players from Barcelona and Jong to retire. Jong had to close Ederson on the edge of the box, but Garcia and Araujo Complex with him, leaving Charles de Ketelaere to the Ederson pass between them.
The ball eventually reached Zappacosta, who slotted home but was judged to be offside.
Despite a purpose behind, Atalanta stayed with its strategy and, in the 50th minute, Barcelona obtained a transparent caution that they did not take into account.
Ketelaere fell deeply into the ball.
Then he tried to play Reloi, who in an offside position, however, Mario Pasalic ran to the hole between Kounde and Araujo, Pedri without having followed his movement. Pasalic then forced a Szczesny backup.
In the 72nd minute, the hosts returned to Araujo, who went at Raphinha’s corner at the back station, taking advantage of a laxative defense.
Seven minutes later, the Pasalic equalized. De Ketelaere was a crucial returner, dragging the central back of Pau Cubarsi’s replacement with him before going to Juan Cuadrado on the right. Midfielder Martin de Roon crossed Barca’s defensive line, De Jong and Pedri does not stick to it.
While Square thought how his options, through Jong, first, headed towards the rear line to fill the hole between Kounde and Araujo.
While Square went to Roon, from Jong he stopped and Pasalic ran in the same as he had exploded before.
De Roon the hole between Cubarsi and Balde before a cross is nestled in the box.
As Kounde and Araujo tried to wrestle Pasalic off the ball, Szczesny opted not to charge forward and the midfielder scored.
The Atalanta draw the Crusade of the Champions League of Barcelona in the microcosm.
His score is favorably compared with the last team of acute winning of the Barça Champions League in 2015, which he controlled through Luis Enrique obtained 31 objectives throughout the total campaign, however, they also admitted 11 times, two less than the Flick team to date.
This Barca side are far from the finished article and talk of a Champions League title charge may be premature, but the margins for victory shrink in the knockout rounds. Barca need to switch on defensively.