Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw by Atletico Madrid in the Spanish La Liga competition at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday (11/25) morning. Atletico took the initiative to attacks early minutes including one from Koke did not work.
Atletico winger Thomas Lemar had time to get a chance in the 17th minute. It’s just that Lemar’s kick can still be blocked by Barcelona’s back line. Barcelona tried to pressure Atletico with the desire to excel in the first round. Unfortunately, the efforts of Lionel Messi in the middle of the first half failed to hit the target.
Arturo Vidal’s kick in the 38th minute also failed to score because it floated on the side of the goal. In the 40th minute Messi’s attempt also failed again. At the start of the second half, Barcelona’s visitors took the attack first. But Arthur’s shot could be blocked by the Los Rojiblancos defense.
Atletico finally scored a goal against Barcelona to take the lead thanks to a goal from Diego Costa in the 77th minute. Diego Costa scored with a header using Antoine Griezmann’s left-footed corner. Costa’s header to the near post failed to be well anticipated by goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
Nevertheless, Atletico’s victory that was in sight vanished after dramatically Ousmane Dembele equalized the score to 1-1 in the 90th minute. Dembele’s goal came after receiving Lionel Messi’s assist. Atletico players are concentrated with Messi not carefully watching Dembele’s movement on the right side.
After receiving a pass from Messi, Dembele only did one control before scoring with the left foot. Dembele’s soccer ball touched Lucas Hernandez. It’s just that, because of the hardness of Dembele’s ball, the ball continued to flow into the goalkeeper Jan Oblak. Both Atletico and Barcelona had to be content to share the numbers 1-1.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde gave praise to Ousmane Dembele who managed to score a equalizing goal against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish League at the end of the match. Dembele got the ball in the penalty box, did one trickery, before firing a shot through the gap of the Atletico goalkeeper, Jan Oblak.
“It is a fact that he is a decisive player. He is also able to perform well consistently because he has many opportunities to play.”
“Dembele has something that other players do not have. He has confidence, can open fire with both legs, personality (good), and talent,” Valverde was quoted as saying by Marca.
Dembele himself just entered in the 80th minute in this match replacing Arthur. Dembele’s performance at Barcelona is still inconsistent so he hasn’t been able to perform regularly to accompany Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi on the front lines.
“He is a great player and was awarded great talent. A fact if we did not play him in the last game, but he is a great player who can help this team.”
“We expect a lot from him because he has great talent,” Valverde said.
