Barcelona moved up to 4^th after an emphatic win over Atletico Madrid

“Trust the process” is no more just mere words as the results are finally justifying their performance on the pitch. Against Atletico, it is never that easy but the brand of football that the Barca players played against them is something every football fan will acknowledge.

Atletico gave the opening blow in the 8^th minute mark after Yannick Carrasco scored a beautiful one touch goal that just beat Ter Stegan. However, Jordi Alba’s unbelievable volley in the 10^th minute mark changed the complexation of the match as Barcelona players were all charged up. Credit goes to Dani Alves as the Brazilian was literally all over the pitch. He was receiving balls in the middle of the park, moving upwards, defensively strong and thus the youngsters got the confidence to play with freedom in the attacking zone.

Just 10 minutes later of Alba’s goal, 17-year-old Gavi made it 2-1 for the Blaugrana and just before the half-time whistle, the Uruguayan Ronald Araujo made it 3-1 after Gerard Pique’s header struck the post. Thus, Barca went into the half-time with a pretty comfortable table as Xavi’s boys were playing some tremendous football at Camp Nou.

Adama Traore’s inclusion in the left side of the pitch has also helped Barcelona. His pace and sheer ability to dribble past opponents was something that players like Ousmane Dembele or Memphis Depay wasn’t offering. Depay was more of a striker and less of a winger and thus, someone like Traore was important for Xavi as Traore is creating chances from the wing that was missing in previous matches.

Post the break, Dani Alves scored the fourth goal for Barcelona as Atletico Madrid was shellshocked. The players couldn’t believe that they have conceded four against an average Barcelona team which is not playing that good this season. On the other hand, Dani Alves received lot of appreciation for playing the way he is known for. A goal on his return is just icing on the cake.

Atletico didn’t give up and kept on playing attacking football and to their credit, Luis Suarez’s header in the 58^th minute found at the back of the net as the Madrid based club was trailing by 2 goals now.

Post that, former Arsenal captain Aubameyang made his debut for the club but he couldn’t do much as Dani Alves was shown a direct red after a poor challenge on Carrasco. Post that incident, Atletico pushed and pushed but couldn’t convert any of their chances as Barcelona defeated Atletico to move to 4^th in the table.

In the post-match interview, the Barca boss said, “We needed a game like this, a victory against a great team and playing well. We matched their intensity and we were better, I think it can be a turning point”. He added, “It’s a great victory, but we have to keep working. We have to be very humble, now we can’t slow down”.