Simeone, facing a crazy match: “When it was 0-2 I thought: don't be so happy because it's not going to be easy”

Atlético had one of those nights when football is so capricious that it turns into madness. “When I got to 0-2 I thought: Don’t be so happy because this isn’t going to be easy. When I got to 2-2 I said: It could have happened. When I got to 3-2: It could have happened too. When I got to 4-2: We’re having a bad time. And when I got to 4-3: We were close to equalising. And, when I got to 4-4, I said to myself: We’ve rounded off a night that our fans must have been very happy with,” summed up Diego Pablo Simeone . Rarely has his team come out so well on the counter-attack in the opening stages of their games against Barcelona. They usually have a hard time linking up passes and last night, in just one minute, the first of the game, Julián Alvarez had already forced Szczesny to head the ball and beat him seconds later. It was like a counter-attacking bacchanal when Griezmann collected a pass from Julián, danced around Koundé and scored the second goal. The great partnership between the Argentine and the Frenchman reigned in Montjuïc with devastating force. “Beyond the different moments, the team played a game with integrity and confidence and with a huge competitive spirit,” analysed Simeone.

If the ease with which Atlético beat the Barça pressure lines and had made holes in Barça seemed abnormal, what happened next was even more shocking. Two goals ahead for Simeone's Atlético is usually a death sentence for any rival. For a team that boasts of being one of the best defenders in world football, the defensive collapse that they suffered was a complete disgrace. Pedri found no opposition when finishing the cross behind Koundé. A first warning that Atlético could begin to fall where they are used to standing. Two goals from corner kicks almost consecutively are a rarity for the red and whites. "The 1-2 hurt us, they corner you and then the corners came, which we defended badly," lamented Cholo. Cubarsí beat Pablo Barrios at the far post to hammer Raphinha's screwball. Atlético's defence swallowed the clarification. Worse was the second goal conceded after a corner kick. Llorente was left stranded in a block and Iñigo Martínez ran free to the far post to make it 3-2. Musso, Simeone's bet for the Cup, left doubt in both goals as to whether he should have imposed himself on two crosses that were blocked.

In just twenty minutes, five goals. A crazy game that gave way to a carnage on the flank defended by Gallagher and Javi Galán. The Englishman and the Extremaduran suffered the tricks of Lamine Yamal. Every movement of the waist and every acceleration of the extraordinary Barça player made the waists of both creak. The duel entered into more normal parameters when Atlético faces Barça. He had trouble linking passes to get out of his area and put on his survival suit in front of Musso. The break was a blessing for Simeone's players.

After the break, Simeone tried to stop the bleeding that Lamine Yamal was producing and he sat Javi Galán down to bring on Reinildo. The Mozambican was also broken by the boy, who doesn't seem to find a defender who can resist him. The umpteenth break ended in Lewandowski's goal. A hard blow because Griezmann had had the tie at three. If Atlético had had a two-goal advantage, now it was Barça who had that juicy advantage.

Atlético did not sink either in their area or in spirit. They stretched themselves with aplomb as in the first half. Always with Julián Alvarez, well accompanied by Correa, as a support for his team's hopes. "The changes revitalized us, gave us depth and courage. Correa came on very well and so did Sorloth and Lino. Julián had an incredible game," concluded Simeone.