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Atletico Madrid booked their spot in the final of the 2019-20 Spanish Super Cup against city rivals Real Madrid with a 3-2 comeback victory over Barcelona.
Following a keenly contested first half with few chances created, the game exploded to life virtually from the restart, with captain Koke putting Diego Simeone's men ahead with a close range finish after being played in by Angel Correa.
Atletico's lead, however, lasted for just six minutes, with a familiar scourge in Lionel Messi drawing the Catalans level after the Argentine international scored his 31st goal against Los Colchoneros. Barcelona then went 2-1 up after Antoine Griezmann headed home against his former side.
From then on, it seemed we were in store for another routine Barcelona victory and the Catalans had two goals disallowed for marginal offsides after VAR consultations. Vitolo then won a penalty - which was converted by Alvaro Morata - after being brought down in the area by stand-in Barcelona goalkeeper Neto.
Correa capped off a fine performance with a goal in the 86th-minute, deflected off Neto into the back of the net despite the best efforts of Sergi Roberto to clear the ball off the line.
The victory means that Atletico Madrid have earned the right to face Real Madrid - who defeated Valencia 3-1 in the other semi-final - on Sunday in Jeddah.
In this piece, we shall be highlighting five talking points from the Spanish Super Cup clash between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
#5 Atletico Madrid end long wait for victory over Barcelona
Atletico Madrid deserve immense praise for their transformation from an average club into European heavyweights, and Diego Simeone's shrewd tactical acumen and man-management skills have played a key role in this.
The club have grown in stature and can go toe-to-toe with the best on the continent and domestically, and also have the trophies and accomplishments to show for their efforts.
However, while they have managed to get the better of city rivals Real Madrid as well as other continental giants, one club that have proved a rather tough nut to crack over the years have been Barcelona.
Simeone is yet to taste victory against the Catalans in La Liga since assuming the managerial mantle in 2011, while Atletico came into this fixture without a win over Barcelona in their last nine matches in all competitions.
Their latest fixture came in December of last year and despite giving their all, they once again came undone with a brilliant individual strike by Lionel Messi.
For large parts of this game, it looked like it would be yet another regular day at the office for the Blaugrana but a late fightback from Los Colchoneros ensured that they finally got a victory over Barcelona at the tenth time of asking.
#4 Pressure mounts on Ernesto Valverde
Ernesto Valverde had huge shoes to fill when he was appointed as the Barcelona manager in the stead of Luis Enrique.
The current Spain manager had achieved immortality at the Nou Camp dugout and left the club as the third-most successful manager behind Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff.
Despite winning La Liga in each of his two seasons at the helm, Valverde is yet to fully win over the Barcelona faithful, with many appalled by his pragmatic style of play, while the club's consecutive embarrassing eliminations from the Champions League did little to help his cause.
Before the start of the season, there was genuine speculation that he would be relieved of his Barcelona duties but a vote of confidence by the board and layers put paid to those thoughts.
A slow start to the campaign led to increased calls for his sack which was toned down after an upturn in fortune.
However, recent results have seen his future called into question once more, with consecutive draws against Real Sociedad and Real Madrid halting the club's momentum, while their 2-2 draw with bottom-placed Espanyol in the Catalan derby was disappointing to say the least.
Their defeat against Atletico Madrid means that Barcelona have won just one of their last five matches and Valverde is sure to feel the heat in the coming weeks.
#3 Atletico Madrid slowly getting into gear
Atletico Madrid started a new era in the summer, spending in excess of €250 million to bring in new faces like Joao Felix, Hector Herrera and Felipe, while they also saw established stalwarts like Antoine Griezmann, Juanfran, Felipe Luiz, Diego Godin and Lucas Hernandez depart.
Things, however, did not go smoothly for the capital club, with fans disillusioned by their lack of positive results and this led to boos ringing out against the players and the manager.
Diego Simeone recognized their frustration and declared that the onus was on the players and himself to prove their mettle and they have responded in kind, with recent results indicative that the club are gradually turning the tide.
Three consecutive wins in the league has seen Atletico climb up to third on the standings and close the gap with the leaders to five points, while their victory over Barcelona means they have registered five consecutive victories in all competitions for the first time this season.
Although historically Atletico Madrid would not have been eligible for the Spanish Super Cup but the new format sees them included after an expanded version included the Copa del Rey runners-up and second-placed team in the league.
Their victory over Barcelona offers them the opportunity to win the first trophy on offer in Spain and if they can successfully dispatch Real Madrid on Sunday, this would give them renewed confidence ahead of their marquee Champions League clash with Premier League leaders Liverpool.
#2 VAR agony for Barcelona
While VAR might have been introduced to the game to eliminate errors, the technology is still not without its flaws and has generated its own fair share of controversies.
Despite being in use for the best part of the last three years, it still has its detractors and there are many who believe it has done more harm than good to the game.
While this might be a tad harsh to VAR, the fact that the technology is still subject to the interpretation of humans means that the element of errors can never be fully eliminated.
Opinionated decisions like handballs and penalty calls would understandably always generate debates but it is for factual decisions like offsides that VAR is expected to get right.
However, despite clear-cut rules for players being offside, the decisions still cause controversies all around and Barcelona were first-hand witnesses of this against Atletico Madrid.
Skipper Lionel Messi thought he had his second of the night after dribbling across the Atletico backline before netting with a fine finish but the goal was rightly ruled out for handball by the 32-year-old in the buildup.
They had another goal disallowed soon after, although this was less clear, as Gerard Pique was adjudged to have been offside by the tiniest of margins.
Atletico Madrid were also aggrieved not to have gotten a penalty decision for a Pique handball and despite their victory, VAR was the cause of yet more drama in faraway Saudi Arabia.
#1 Lionel Messi brilliance not enough
Lionel Messi is currently the best player in the world and while his status as the greatest in history might still be up for debate, his brilliance and match-winning abilities cannot be denied.
The upturn in fortune for Barcelona earlier in the season was directly related to Messi's return from a calf injury, and he blazed his way to the top of La Liga standings with eight goals and three assists from his first five matches back from injury.
With 30 goals from just 35 matches, Atletico Madrid are Messi's second-favourite opponents after Sevilla) and he had the only chance of a largely forgettable first half, drawing a comfortable save from Jan Oblak.
Six minutes into the second, he got a requiste goal against Diego Simeone's side and put the ball in the back of the net again few minutes later only for it to be ruled out fr handball.
Even in defeat, the Argentine showcased his abilities and was by far the best player on the field. His five shots (three on target) were more than anyone else managed in the match, while he also had game-leading numbers in dribbles (10), key passes (3), and fouls won (4).
