Is this draw the final nail in Barcelona's hope for retaining the title? Barcelona needs a near miracle now to retain the League title!
FC Barcelona - 2 | Atletico Madrid - 2
In one of the most vital matches of this season, Barcelona was held to 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou by a high flying Atletico Madrid. Messi and company needed to win this match at any cost to keep their La Liga hopes alive. Even then it wouldn't have been enough! But with this result, they may have kissed goodbye to the title!
By the time Barcelona line-up for the next match, the lead at the top could be a significant four points. With only four matches left, that could be too much to overturn, even if this Barcelona team finds their top form. With the kind of display now we are displaying, there could be no hope at all.
Dubious Refereeing Decisions Does Barcelona In
One cannot blame the entirety of the result on Referees. But even then one has to wonder how they get it all wrong when it is Barcelona. The first issue was the retaking of the penalty save by Ter Stegan. By the book, the decision was a correct one, but then you can't blame Cules wondering why it is only taken out when Barcelona is at the receiving end.
The penalty given for the blatant dive, which took the score to 2-2 is more confusing. From the word go, it appeared as a blatant dive. But if you were wondering why VAR kicked in in the first event. You were wondering why VAR didn't kick in the second event. It seems the referee in the VAR box refused to look at the event, had he did it would have overturned!
It's quite surprising that after the break all VAR decisions majorly go the way Real Madrid and Perez want. It's as if Perez was doing double shift during lockdown to buy these referees out. Surprisingly there is no noise from our Board or management regarding this!
Once Again Setién failed to react on Time
Let's give the credit where it's due. Regardless of Setién's tenure end soon or continue, he has already left his mark on Barcelona. That with the way he has handled Rique Puig. We all doubted whether at 20 years old and a fragile build, he is ready to step up. Setién believed him in. This match showed us that the youngster is all ready to impact the game.
If he can do that with Atletico Madrid, then he is ready. He was brilliant with ball possession, pushing the attack forward, continuous working, and decisive pass making. In the last few matches, he has done more than what Arthur has done during his whole stay in Barcelona. With him and de Jong, Barcelona may have solved a bit of midfield crisis for next season.
But that doesn't absolve Setién of the big mistake he did in the match. Despite the high-intensity nature of the match, and Barcelona matching Atletico for the same, Setién failed to react to the ascendency of Atletico after Barcelona went back in lead through Messi's 700th goal. After that goal, we were seeing the old Atletico with the way they moved forward.
We all felt that a goal was around the corner with the pressure they were exerting. Setién should have brought in Ansu Fati to push them back with speed in that exact period. Atletico couldn't have continued the high pressure for long, they had to subsidize. Had we broke faster in those situations, we would have done better. Once the goal came by a non-existing penalty, the game shifted heavily in Atletico's favor.
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