Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone confessed his astonishment while reviewing a previous match against Barcelona. In his statements, he affirmed that his team had clear opportunities to eliminate the Catalan side on two separate occasions. With a mix of disbelief and frustration, Simeone commented: I was watching the match yesterday and I said: We left Barcelona eliminated twice, my God!. The reflection hints at how close the red-and-white team came to achieving a historic result.
VAR and tactics: two tools that don't always seal the deal 🤔
In the technical analysis, Atletico Madrid showed solid defensive execution for much of the match, but failed in key moments of finishing. According to possession and shots-on-target data, the team generated goal-scoring chances with a high expected conversion rate (xG). However, a lack of precision in the final third and VAR's intervention in a controversial play prevented those advantages from translating into a definitive result. Simeone will need to adjust his forwards' finishing for future knockout ties.
Eliminated twice... and still alive (like cats) 🐱
Simeone must be wondering if his team has some kind of feline curse. Because leaving Barcelona eliminated twice and having Barca still breathing is like taking two bites of a churro and having the churro ask for another bite. El Cholo can now prepare the exorcism for the next knockout round, or perhaps hire a black cat to bring bad luck to the opponent. Meanwhile, Barca keeps wagging its tail, and Atletico is left with the hangover of what could have been.