Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 4-2 in La Liga on Sunday in a thrilling encounter.
Yannick Carrasco gave the visitors an early lead but the Catalans responded by netting thrice before the break through Jordi Alba, Gavi and Ronald Araujo.
Dani Alves made it 4-1 for Xavi’s side in the 49th minute before former striker Luis Suarez reduced the deficit for the defending champions by pulling one back at his old stomping ground.
Barcelona hadn’t beaten Atletico in their last three league clashes, failing to score in any of them, but displayed a frightening attacking intent in the game to end their worst run against the side in style.
Their victory, however, turned sour late on when Alves was sent off for a tackle on Carrasco, but the team wouldn’t mind with them moving into fourth, two points above Diego Simeone’s troops.
Here are the player ratings:
Barcelona Player Ratings
Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 6.5/10
The Barcelona custodian was left exposed on a few occasions and beaten twice on the evening.
Dani Alves – 7/10
The Brazilian scored and assisted one goal each but got himself sent off for a silly challenge late on, undoing all his good work.
Ronald Araujo – 7/10
Araujo couldn’t keep up with Carrasco for Atletico’s opening goal but then got on the scoresheet himself with a nice finish.
Gerard Pique – 7/10
The Barcelona stalwart constantly looked to get the ball forward with long passes but also kept everything tidy at the back, making five clearances in the match.
Jordi Alba – 7.5/10
He sprinted forward with great energy and purpose but his crosses lacked precision. Alba laid out two key passes and overall put up a good all-round performance.
Pedri – 7/10
The 19-year-old was a key player in midfield for Barcelona, knitting passes together as well as breaking down opposition play.
Sergio Busquets – 6/10
He worked well with Pedri but there were some sloppy moments from the Barcelona skipper.
Frenkie de Jong – 7.5/10
Continuing in his bright form, the Dutchman led their press with aplomb and was a thorn in Atletico’s face.
Adama Traore – 8/10
The returning hero was full of neat tricks and also bagged an assist on a memorable debut.
Ferran Torres – 5.5/10
He messed up a chance in the first half but Araujo was right there to slam it home and save him the blushes. Not the best game for the youngster.
Gavi – 7/10
He scored Barcelona’s second goal with his only shot on target in the match and laid out some neat passes too.
Substitutes
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6/10
The Gabonese striker too made his debut but offered no great shakes.
Sergino Dest – 6.5/10
Dest completed three tackles despite being on the field for just 19 minutes and was a breath of fresh air.
Nico Gonzalez –
He looked off the pace at times but displayed his passing range once again.
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