Simeone won the first round

FC Barcelona managed to win 2-1 at the Camp Nou vs Atlético Madrid for the first leg of 1/4 finals of the Champions League on Tuesday 5th April, 2016.

Torres was sent off after 35 minutes when the players of El Cholo Simeone were leading 0-1.
How did they manage to disturb the culés ?

The Colchoneros started the game playing 4-4-2. Griezmann and Torres upfront, Sául on the right and Ferreira-Carrasco on the left. In the center, Gabi and Koke.

They pressed very agressively Barcelona in their own half.
Their objective was to force the culés to give the ball to Alves. They did not leave time to think to the defenders, and orientated their passes towards the flanks, where they would be helped by the touchline - the best defender ever, as Pep said.

If Barcelona managed to get the ball through, then Atleti would sit back deeply, in their famous 4-4-2-0, that is with all the players behind the ball.

After a few minutes, they stopped pressing so high. They positionned themselves as a "medium block" in the center of the pitch, But the idea was still to force Barcelona to go to the flanks. They set up a trap for the "interior", and were waiting for Alves to receive the ball and then press him towards the touchline.

Around minute 20, Simeone decide to change his organization and moved to 4-1-4-1. Saúl joined Koke and Gabi in the center whereas Griezmann move to the right flank.

Their block was relatively low. The midfielder in front of the ball was jumping onto the Barcelona players, whereas his team-mates would keep their positions.

The Atleti block was compact and enabled Barça to play on the wings. But they declined the offer and preferred trying to enter through the center. They almost managed to do so, thanks to several outstanding dribbles.

When Barça did move the ball to the wing, Atleti put almost all their players inside the box to defend a possible cross.

When the visitors got the ball, they countertattacked quickly from the flanks, where if they lose the ball the "Countertransition" would be less harmful than from the center. Their second option was to send long balls to Fernando Torres, who was winning his aerial duels against the triangle Alba-Mascherano-Busquets.

The few times that the colchoneros managed to occupy Barça´s half, the role of Filipe Luis was very important. As soon as Atleti lost the ball, he moved quickly to cover Messi and prevent him from starting the catalan counterattack.

After 35 minutes, Torres was sent off and another game started.

What will happen next Wednesday during the second leg ? Will Atleti try to repeat the same approach even though El Niño is suspended ? Let´s see what Diego Simeone's plan is.