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More than three points as Atletico host Barcelona

Fittingly for a team with a motto of "more than a club”, Barcelona’s clash on Saturday night against Atletico Madrid will be more than a game. It will be the first match either side will play since the controversial referendum in Catalonia on 1 October over secession from Spain.

Lionel Messi scored two goals in Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Las Palmas on 1 October. It was their sixth consecutive victory in La Liga.
Lionel Messi scored two goals in Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Las Palmas on 1 October. It was their sixth consecutive victory in La Liga. Reuters/Albert Gea
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That day Barcelona’s home match against Las Palmas was played behind closed doors in protest over police behaviour at polling stations throughout the region.

During a televised address a few days after the poll, King Felipe of Spain hit out at the Catalonian politicians who were steering the breakaway. He did not condemn the actions of the police.

With such a fervent political hinterland dredging up memories of injustices and atrocities under the dictatorship of General Franco, Saturday night at the Wanda Metropolitana will be loaded. King Felipe – an ardent Atletico fan – attended Atletico’s first game at their new stadium in September. His presence on Saturday night would be construed as a red rag to a bull.

Ernesto Valverde’s men go into the game with the bragging rights. They are the pacesetters. Barcelona have won all seven of their games of the La Liga campaign scoring 23 goals along the way. Atletico are also unbeaten but have drawn three of their seven matches and lie six points behind the leaders.

“It will be Barcelona’s first big test,” said Marti Molina, a football writer at the Barcelona based newspaper Ara. “Atletico Madrid are one of those teams that know how to stop Barcelona.

“Atletico have a lot of difficulties against teams that play defensively like them. Atletico always play well against Barcelona. It won’t be enough for Barcelona to hold onto the ball and look for openings. Valverde will have to show that he has another way.”

Barcelona’s fight in Madrid could be undermined by a tired Lionel Messi. The Argentine was on international duty with his country and played in both their qualifiers for the World Cup in Russia.

“It will be a huge challenge for Valverde at Atletico,” added Molina.

Victory would send out a loud message to the rest of La Liga. It would resound thus: not only are we able to cope with the sale of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for 222 million euros but we can also overcome the loss through injury of his replacement Ousmane Dembele.

It would also put Barcelona nine points ahead of one of their main rivals for the La Liga title. In the restive context of the match, that would give Valverde and his players more than a boost.

 

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