Welp, that was about as derpy as it gets. What a shit show from Barca. Atleti should have had 3 goals within the first 15 minutes, hitting just about every inch of the woodwork. Barca insisted on trying to pass out of the back instead of clearing and regrouping. On offense, Xavi didn't show any creativity, Iniesta and Messi looked completely out of sorts, Cesc floated around harmlessly, and Neymar continued to get muscled off the ball consistently. Dani Alves had a great cross to Messi that narrowly missed. Neymar had one nice run and crossed to Messi, who missed badly. Neymar got a terrific pass in the 2nd half (forget from who) but tried to dribble around the keeper instead of hitting it first time. Alves had another excellent cross that just missed Xavi. Aaaaaaand that was literally ALL of the Barca chances I can remember. Alexis replaced Cesc and Pedro replaced Neymar, but it didn't make any difference. Props to Atleti for coming screaming out of the gates and pressuring Barca in their own half. Once Barca settled down, Atleti played 11 behind the ball, very deep, and looked to break on the counter. In the 2nd half, they should have had another 2 goals, but had some pitiful fast break play and finishing. Nevertheless, they were by far the better team and deserved to win. Barca's passing was completely choked off and there was not enough magic in Iniesta and Messi to bail them out. Time to focus on La Liga and get Atleti back in the final fixture, not to mention beat Real again for the Copa del Rey.
