MX23RW : Tuesday, March 19 08:06:38| >> :120:21707:21707:
[monks data]
Atletico Madrid logo
Champions League | Quarter-Finals
Apr 9, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
Barcelona logo

1-0

Koke (6')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Match Analysis: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Barcelona

Sports Mole's analysis of the Champions League quarter-final second leg between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.

Atletico Madrid booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals with a 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday evening.

Koke's early goal was enough for Los Rojiblancos, who edged past their La Liga rivals 2-1 over the two legs.

Diego Simeone's men will be joined by neighbours Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the final four of Europe's premier competition.

Below Sports Mole dissects the game in detail to provide analysis of the quarter-final second leg.

Match statistics

Atletico Madrid
Shots: 15
On target: 5
Possession: 29
Corners: 6
Fouls: 15

Barcelona
Shots: 12
On target: 3
Possession: 71
Corners: 9
Fouls:

Was the result fair?

In a word, yes. Atletico Madrid could have been home and hosed within the first 15 minutes. They hit the woodwork three times and had chances on the break in the second half with Gabi guilty of spurning the best of those. Barcelona were quiet. Neymar had their best chance with a glancing header, while Xavi and Lionel Messi also had headed efforts that went close.

Atletico Madrid's performance

Defensively, Atleti were superb, as usual. They kept Barcelona quiet for the majority of the game, and Messi hardly had a kick. That takes some doing. They were also without their talisman in Diego Costa, and made light of the 33-goal forward's absence to come up with a huge win. First class from Diego Simeone and his men.

Barcelona's performance

Gerardo Martino's side were poor throughout. They had the lion's share of possession as usual, but Atletico were content with that. Very rarely did Barcelona threaten in behind the Atleti defence. The coach sent on Pedro and Alexis Sanchez, and they couldn't inspire them. Poor all round, and you feel that Martino could be given the sack at the end of the season.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Raul Garcia:

Raul Garcia was excellent all game, time and again he used the ball well, and his long pass for Cristian Rodriguez late on was inch perfect before the Uruguayan forced Jose Pinto into a good save. Just edges out Koke and Adrian.

Biggest gaffe

Pinto nearly cost his side by dwelling on the ball early on, exposed with the ball at his feet. It got stuck between his legs moments after the first goal, which nearly led to David Villa stealing in and making it 2-0.

Referee performance

Howard Webb generally did well, but he failed to award a spot kick for Atletico when Villa was bundled over by Javier Mascherano in the second half. The Argentina defender barged into his opponent's back, which Webb ajudged to have been a shoulder-to-shoulder contact.

What next?

Atletico travel to Getafe on Sunday, while Barcelona are also away at Granada. Both teams will be expected to win as they duel it out for the La Liga title with Real Madrid, who are third.

ID:149047: cacheID:149047:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5987:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Atletico Madrid's Koke celebrates with team mate David Villa after scoring the opening goal against Barcelona during their Champions League quarter final match on April 9, 2014
Read Next:
Koke strike knocks out Barcelona
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
QBayern651016
QCopenhagen62228
3Galatasaray61235
4Man Utd61144

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
QArsenal641113
QPSV62319
3Lens62228
4Sevilla60242

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
QReal Madrid660018
QNapoli631210
3Braga61144
4Union Berlin60242

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
QReal Sociedad633012
QInter Milan633012
3Benfica61144
4Salzburg61144

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
QAtletico642014
QLazio631210
3Feyenoord62046
4Celtic61144

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
QDortmund632111
QPSG62228
3AC Milan62228
4Newcastle61235

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
QMan City660018
QRB Leipzig640212
3Young Boys61144
4Red Star60151

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
QBarcelona640212
QPorto640212
3Shakhtar63039
4Antwerp61053

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!