The glorious Wanda Metropolitano stadium was filled with 67,204 people, creating the passion and atmosphere of a true gladiatorial arena. Somehow, the roars of the crowd made the great derby between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid an even bigger event, if that is even possible for a game that is slowly but steadily catching up to the great El Clasico.
Still, for all the hype, and the importance the three points at stake, the match did not really live up to it. We witnessed a brawl between two conservative teams who were more concerned about committing no mistakes. As a result, they lost that initial spark that was expected and wanted.
This tactical analysis will use statistics to determine how things played out in Madrid and how both teams fairly collected a point each in a not so dramatic fashion.
Line ups
Barcelona (4-3-1-2)
Starting XI: Ter Stegen Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Jordi Alba Vidal, Sergio Busquets, Roberto, Arthur Suarez, Messi
Subs: Cillissen, Rafinha, Lenglet, Munir, Malcom, Alena, O. Dembélé
Coach: Ernesto Valverde
Atlético Madrid (4-4-2)
Starting XI: Jan Oblak Lucas Hernández, Stefan Savić, Filipe Luís, Santiago Arias Rodri, Saúl Ñíguez, Thomas Lemar, Koke Antoine Griezmann, Diego Costa
Subs: Antonio Adán, Nikola Kalinić, Vitolo, Thomas, Ángel Correa, Gelson Martins, Antonio Moya
Coach: Diego Simeone
Barcelona setup
Ernesto Valverde had the chance to shuffle the cards a bit and be creative with the squad for the big derby. His only two notable absentees included the Croat, Ivan Rakitić, who suffered an injury on international duty. Rakitić was on a red card anyway that he collected during the Betis spectacle a couple of weeks back. The other unavailable star was the injured Brazillian, Philippe Coutinho.
Still, the Ant had the option of the returning Samuel Umtiti. Valverde immediately opted for the Frenchman, dropping his compatriot Lenglet in the process. Apart from that, Sergi Roberto got a start in midfield while Semedo was at right-back. Arturo Vidal was given a nod instead of the injured and suspended Rakitić.
The team operated in a diamond-shaped 4-3-1-
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