Barcelona and Atletico Madrid gave us one of the most exciting matches of the season, and in recent years. It is difficult to remember a match that was so close, with so many changes on the scoreboard, and it ended in a 4-4 draw, making it a real goal festival. However, it is clear that the coaches of both clubs were not satisfied with the performance of their players, especially their defenders, due to the ease with which they dealt with the attacks.
According to information from the Spanish newspaper “El Nacional,” Hansi Flick was happy with his team’s reaction and character in quickly recovering from a two-goal deficit, but he expressed his anger at allowing Diego Pablo Simeone’s team to equalize again, and once again with a goal in the last minutes, as happened in the previous match with “Los Rojiblancos” in La Liga. Alejandro Balde was one of the main players involved.
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As in the last match, the Spanish international was exposed to some defensive gaps and spaces left behind. There is no denying that he is in great physical condition, which allows him to be a constant threat whenever he joins the attack, but much more is required of him when it comes to defending, which is the main priority. It is through his wing that most of the opponents’ dangerous actions come.
Jules Koundé was also not at his best, and it was not his best night. Despite his brilliance this season and his transformation into one of the stars of Camp Nou and one of the best footballers in the world in his position, he was not at his best against Atlético. One of the goals the team conceded came as a result of an unjustified loss of the ball, which caused Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez to give him great trouble.
The fact that there were no reliable substitutes for Balde or Koundé meant that both players remained on the field for the entire 90 minutes, as Flick would have decided to replace them earlier if there had been ready-made alternatives.
Pedri González, one of the stars of the match thanks to his brilliant performance, did not hesitate to answer a question on the subject, asking “for the duo to be more intelligent with and without the ball, and not to rush too much in some actions.”
The Canary Islands player Pedri also criticised the defence, saying: “Maybe we should defend a little bit further back”.
