Somehow, despite having gone on a 39-game unbeaten run in all competitions since losing to Sevilla in October, Barcelona find themselves with a point to prove when they welcome Atletico Madrid to Camp Nou in the Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday.
That lean streak included a swashbuckling 12 wins in a row in La Liga, but the 2-2 draw at Villarreal on Mar. 20 ended that sequence. Barcould just about deal with that but their Clasico defeat to Real Madrid on Saturdaywasn’t so easy to shoulder.
Barcelona still maintain a six-point lead at the top of the league table (ahead of Atletico, not Real) and are in the Copa del Rey final, but Los Blancos’ late show has provoked doubts about their ability to repeat last year’s treble. While Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale were all involved in Madrid’s two goals, coming alive late on as their hosts tired, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar struggled to click. In their last two outings together, all they’ve got to show for their efforts is a Neymar penalty at El Madrigal. Could they be suffering from burnout?
Already in 2016 after being briefly hampered by a minor kidney problem, Messi has played in 21 out of Bars 23 matches. Neymar and Suarez are just behind on 19 although of the 10 combined matches they’ve missed, seven have been Copa del Rey games. The Uruguayan has already played over 200 minutes more than in the entirety of last season, largely due to the fact he was banned until October during his debut campaign, while the Brazilian is on course to pass the 3,600 minutes he played in. The results (107 goals this season, 122 last season) have been phenomenal yet they find themselves preparing to face Atletico under pressure to rediscover their magic.
“They’re not machines,” Luis Enriquepointed out at his pre-game news conferenceon Monday. “But they are the best players in the world.”
The Barboss certainly has no doubts over his golden trio’s fitness levels heading into the final few weeks of the season, though. Before the Villarreal draw, he tipped his players to be fresher in the final stages of the season than they were last year. Gerard Pique also sounded an MSN warning for Atletico, too: “Sometimes it might seem like they’re not there, but then they will score three goals. They are the three best forwards in the world.”
Of course, it would not be advisable to doubt Messi, Suarez and Neymar. While the tiredness debate is open to interpretation and Madrid’s win over Bardoes appear to have bridged the gap between the Blaugrana and the rest, Atletico should be wary of a backlash. “We are going to go for it from the very first minute and try to score as many goals as possible,”Pique promisedahead of the first leg clash. The Catalan side, without doubt, are desperate to bounce back and their three South American forwards will be key to that objective.
Luis Enrique must also play his part. His Champions League record since taking over from Gerardo Martino is incredible. Barhave won 17 of 21 games with him on the bench, including all four knockout games at Camp Nou — Mohamed Elneny’s strike for Arsenal in the last round was the first time a visiting side have even scored beyond the group stage in Catalonia since Atletico in the last eight in 2014. That goal was a stunner by Diego and although Neymar cancelled it out, the Rojiblanco progressed courtesy of Koke’s effort in the return leg at the Vicente Calderon.
Things have changed since then, though. Barhave won all six meetings between the two sides since Luis Enrique’s appointment while Arda Turan has swapped shirts — incidentally, a bizarre ruling from UEFA on potential kit clashes will see both teams wear their away shirts in both legs.
Diego Simeone has struggled to replicate the success he enjoyed against Martino. However, that Champions League defeat will still linger in Barcelona’s minds. They’ll be out for revenge and will be looking to make a statement after their Clasico lapse. If any team is capable of proving its point, it’s this Barside.