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#2 Defensive solidity from the back four of Barcelona
Even though Costa was sent off early, Atleti continued to press Barcelona when they had the chance and had several opportunities on the counter. Barcelona had to be vigilant in defence to stop Atleti from sneaking opportunities. Atleti had a lot of counter-attacking chances which were blocked before they even started.
Simeone's men also had opportunities from set pieces which were dealt with well by Barcelona. Both Lenglet and Pique got a yellow card too. Lenglet got it for a professional foul on Thomas Partey to stop him from getting away on the counter. Despite being high on the pitch, both Alba and Sergi Roberto tracked back well and didn't let even one cross go into the box.
We have seen a lot of defensive blunders from Barcelona this season but yesterday was not one of the days. The defence held strong against a frustrating Atleti attack which had all the firepower in the front with Morata and Correa being substituted to help Griezmann. This allowed Barcelona to capitalize late in the day and seal the deal.
