Xavi Hernández has hardly any rest. The Vallesian coach secured Barça’s place in the round of 16 of the Champions League after a two-year absence, but only with a brilliant win against Porto (2-1). gives him enough credit to keep the focus on Diego Pablo Simeone’s ambitious Atlético. The biggest problem will be finding the formula for neutralization the most dangerous duo in the league, consisting of Antoine Griezmann and Álvaro Morata.
With qualification for the round of 16 of the Champions League assured, Barça will face an Atlético team that has done so on Sunday Antoine and Álvaro, two “disowned” by Barça itself and by Real Madrid, a crucial duo. In total they scored 16 goals, which they also distributed optimally for Cholo’s interests.
Morata and Griezmann’s performances and statistics have been one of the keys to Atlético de Madrid’s excellent seasons and results. The red and whites have made the Metropolitan a fortress with seven wins in seven games and have only shown some weakness away from home. Despite everything, they remain third in the table (31 points), with Real Madrid and Girona within striking distance (35 points), having postponed their matchday four game against Sevilla at their stadium.
Therefore, Barça, which hosts Atlético and Girona in a week (December 3 and 10), is in desperate need of wins and points. And also the need for Xavi Hernández and his technical staff to find the formula to disable their striker.
Antoine and Álvaro, Atlético’s firepower
Antoine Griezmann is now considered the best player in the league alongside the Madrid player Bellingham. The Frenchman who did not adapt to Barça He leads the mattress team’s attack and also has his most effective campaign in front of the opponent’s goal. He has already scored 9 goals in his thirteen appearances and is second in the Pichichi table with 9 goals (1 assist), 2 goals behind the aforementioned Bellingham. Simeone uses his balance between talent and sacrifice to use him as a second striker or playmaker, always with excellent performances.
In the case of Morata, he has already scored 7 goals (2 assists) in the 12 games played, and although his effectiveness has waned somewhat in recent games, his contribution at the start of the season has decided more than one game, including two doubles. He has also become the leading striker for Luis de la Fuente’s team, is the current Nations League champion and has qualified for Euro 2024.
Simeone managed to get the best out of both. It has given Álvaro the confidence to maintain his performance on a regular basis. Antoine the confidence to regain his best version. The result is that both They contributed more than half of Atlético’s goals in the league (16 out of 30), but they also distributed them very well: in ten of the thirteen league games at least one goal was scored by Griezmann or Morata:
Griezmann and Morata’s goals in the 2023/24 league
- 1st Matchday · Atlético – Granada (3-1) · 1 Morata goal
- 2nd matchday · Real Betis – Atlético (0-0)
- 3rd matchday · Rayo – Atlético (0-7) · 2 goals and 1 assist from Morata; 1 Griezmann goal
- 5th matchday · Valencia – Atlético (3:0)
- 6th matchday · Atlético – Real Madrid (3-1) · 2 goals from Morata; 1 Griezmann goal
- 7th matchday · Osasuna – Atlético (0-2) · 1 goal from Griezmann
- 8th matchday · Atlético – Cádiz (3-2)
- 9th matchday · Atlético – Real Sociedad (2-1) · 1 goal from Griezmann
- 10th matchday · Celta – Atlético (0-3) · 3 goals from Griezmann
- 11th matchday · Atlético – Alavés (2-1) · 1 goal and 1 assist from Morata
- 12th matchday · UD Las Palmas – Atlético (2-1) · 1 Morata goal
- 13th matchday · Barça – Villarreal (3-1) · 1 goal and 1 assist from Griezmann
- 14th matchday · Atlético – Mallorca (1-0) · 1 goal from Griezmann
Just a win without the gunpowder of Morata and Griezmann
They have only contributed one goal to the three setbacks that Atlético have suffered in the league so far (3-0 defeats against Valencia and 2-1 against Las Palmas as well as a 0-0 draw against Real Betis). And the only game the Red and Whites won without the firepower of Madrid and France was against Cádiz (3-2)..