Atletico Madrid 0-3 Barcelona: Player ratings as Lewandowski stars in impressive win
FC Barcelona
Atletico Madrid 0-3 Barcelona: Player ratings as Lewandowski stars in impressive win
Barcelona have moved up to second in La Liga
They inflicted Atleti's first home defeat in La Liga all season
Lewandowski shone in the emphatic win
By Jack Gallagher
Mar 17, 2024
Top performance from Lewandowski
Top performance from Lewandowski / Angel Martinez/GettyImages
Barcelona moved up to second in La Liga thanks to a hugely impressive 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid.
Goals from Joao Felix, Robert Lewandowski and Fermin Lopez were enough to secure a surprisingly comfortable win for Barca on Sunday, becoming the first team to beat Atleti at Estadio Civitas Metropolitano this season.
The win sees Barca move two points clear of high-flying Girona in the league table, and eight points adrift of runaway leaders Real Madrid.
How the game unfolded
The early exchanges were wholly dominated by Atletico Madrid, with their high press causing Barca a whole host of problems. That high press led to a real chance for Pablo Barrios inside the opening ten minutes, when a misplaced Marc Andre ter Stegen clearance fell to the feet of the youngster. After controlling however, Barrios curled the ball just wide of the far right post from outside of the penalty area.
After being completely dominated for the opening 40 minutes of the game, Barca began to finally show some signs of life late in the first half with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez both spurning half-chances to give Barca a rather underserved lead.
Rather predictably, it would be Joao Felix who would give Barcelona the lead soon after those missed chances. A wonderful move from La Blagurana in which Ilkay Gundogan drifted past two Atleti midfielders before playing the ball into the path of Robert Lewandowski on the left of the penalty area. Instead of shooting, Lewa cleverly drilled the ball back into the path of loanee Felix, who was able to calmly slot into the corner of the net.
Inside the opening minute of the second half, Lewa would nab a goal of his own to make it 2-0. The Poland international flicked the ball over the foot of Reinaldo in the box to latch onto a pass from Raphinha before swivelling to brilliant drill the ball across goal and into the far corner of the net.
Atleti came close to reducing the arrears soon after, when Marcos Llorente forced Ter Stegen into a stunning save to tip a volleyed-effort clear of the danger zone.
In the 65th minute, Barca wrapped up the win with a stunning third goal. Having scored in midweek in the UEFA Champions League, Fermin Lopez repeated the trick on Sunday, rising highest in the box to head home an inch perfect cross from Lewandowski.
Things went from bad to worse for Atleti in added time at the end of the game when Nahuel Molina was shown a straight red for dragging Vitor Roque down as the last man.
Barcelona player ratings (4-3-3)
Joao Felix
Felix scored against his former club / Mateo Villalba/GettyImages
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 7/10 - Made a brilliant save to deny Llorente in the second half. His distribution was generally very good.
RB: Jules Kounde - 6/10 - Got forward well from right-back throughout, causing Atleti's back three problems.
CB: Ronald Araujo - 5/10 - Struggled at times in the first half, and had a much easier time of it once Alvaro Morata came off.
CB: Pau Cubarsi - 6/10 - Impeccable on the ball, completing 96% of his passes during the win.
LB: Hector Fort - 6/10 - The youngster didn't look out of place at all in the Barcelona starting XI.
CM: Fermin Lopez - 7/10 - A late addition to the team due to Andreas Christensen's injury, Fermin more than made the most of his chance by bagging the third goal of the game.
CM: Sergi Roberto - 6/10 - The veteran didn't do much wrong in the middle of the park, and kept things ticking over well for his side.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan - 8/10 - One of the German's best performances so far in a Barcelona shirt, Gundogan linked up brilliantly with Lewandowski throughout.
RW: Raphinha - 6/10 - Bagged an assist for Lewa's goal, and was very upset he was taken off on the hour mark.
ST: Robert Lewandowski - 9/10 - In vintage form. His goal and two assists were just rewards for a sublime outing. The Atleti back three couldn't get near him.
LW: Joao Felix - 7/10 - Of course he scored. He was always going to score.
Substitutes
SUB: Lamine Yamal (60' for Raphinha) - 6/10
SUB: Oriol Romeu (77' for Roberto) - 5/10
SUB: Vitor Roque (77' for Felix) - 6/10
SUB: Inigo Martinez (82' for Fort) - 5/10
SUB: Marc Casado (82' for Fermin) - 5/10
Manager - Xavi Hernandez - 6/10 - Sent off yet again in the first half, his team struggled against Atleti's tactical set-up early on but they worked it out soon enough (as the scoreline attests).
Player of the match: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
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FA Cup
FA Cup semi-final draw: Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea & Coventry learn fate
Man Utd are set to face off against Coventry City
Holders Man City will take on Chelsea
Both games will be played at Wembley Stadium
By Jack Gallagher
Mar 17, 2024
The cup draw has been made
The cup draw has been made / Clive Mason/GettyImages
Manchester United have been drawn against Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-finals, with holders Manchester City set to take on Chelsea in the other game set to take place at Wembley Stadium.
The draw for the FA Cup semi-finals was made after Man Utd secured their place in the final four thanks to a famous win at Old Trafford. The heavyweight clash between Manchester United and Liverpool finished 2-2 thanks to an equaliser from Antony in the final five minutes of normal time before goals from Harvey Elliott and Marcus Rashford, and a 121st minute winner from Amad Diallo, secured a famous win for the Red Devils.
Earlier on Sunday, Chelsea survived a scare from Championship outfit Leicester City at Stamford Bridge to secure their place in the draw. The Blues needed two late goals from Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke to earn a 4-2 win.
Late goals were also the order of the day on Saturday when 98th and 100th minute strikes at Molineux Stadium dramatically booked Coventry City's place at Wembley Stadium in April. It's the first time since 1987, the last time they won the competition, that Coventry have made it this far in the FA Cup.
The least entertaining game of the FA Cup weekend came at St. James' Park where Man City cruised past Newcastle United in a 2-0 win.
2023/24 FA Cup semi-final draw
Coventry City vs Manchester United
Manchester City vs Chelsea
Both ties will be played on the weekend of 20/21 April at Wembley Stadium.
READ THE LATEST FA CUP NEWS, PREVIEWS & RATINGS HERE
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