Atletico Madrid
Jan Oblak: 5.5/10
The Atletico goalkeeper was busy for most parts of the game; not making saves but by holding on to the ball for longer than necessary. He did make a handful of easy saves but there wasn’t much that he could do about both the goals conceded.
Juanfran: 6/10
Juanfran was handed the task of handling Neymar and he did a decent job of it. He did not have any scope to go forward as they stayed deep inside their own half for a major part of the game.
Diego Godin: 7/10
The Atletico captain was at his usual best keeping his countryman Luis Suarez at bay until the second half. Again, there wasn’t much that Godin could have done about the goals and certainly had a very good game doing what he does best.
Lucas Hernandez: 6.5/10
The youngster was handed one of the most challenging tasks in football today; handling Messi, Suarez and Neymar. In truth, the lack of experience was not evident and he did justice to his role.
Filipe Luis: 6.5/10
Filipe Luis did a decent job of containing Messi in the initial stages and played a pivotal role in terms of the defensive contribution. Akin to Juanfran, Luis too did not have any scope to go forward after going a man down.
Gabi: 7/10
The midfielder put in an amazing effort against the trio of Busquets, Rakitic and Iniesta. He covered a lot of ground, made crucial tackles and ensured the opposition’s rhythm was broken at regular intervals.
Koke: 7.5/10
Koke reminded all of us as to why he remains one of the most important members of the Atletico squad. The Spaniard played Torres through with a peach of a pass that eventually earned the team a crucial away goal. He also made significant defensive contributions and was undoubtedly Atletico’s best player.
Saul Niguez: 6.5/10
The youngster has had a superb season and did a good job to continue his purple patch. However, he did not have many opportunities to go forward after going a man down and thus had to focus more on defensive duties.
Yannick Carrasco: 3.5/10
The Belgian had a quiet game and could not contribute both offensively & defensively. He often struggled to get past Alves and could not make much of an impact against the defending champions.
Fernando Torres: 4.5/10
Bitter-sweet is the phrase that would perfectly define what happened to Torres today. He again scored against Barcelona however, he cancelled out his contribution all by himself with a thoughtless challenge that eventually sent him off and let his team down for the remainder of the game.
Antoine Griezmann: 5.5/10
Griezmann did show some promise in the initial stages and he was probably the only player who tested Ter Stegen in the whole of ninety minutes. After Torres was sent off, he had to carry all the weight of going forward on the counter by himself and that didn’t really pay off.
Substitutes:
Augustin Fernandez: 5/10
The midfielder didn't really have much of an impact after coming on, apart from getting booked.
Thomas Partey: 6/10
The young midfielder provided an outlet with his purposeful, strong running and helped relieve the pressure on the defence.
Angel Correa: N/A
The forward came on too late to make much of an impact.
