Atlético Madrid lost 2-1 to Barcelona at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in a match that featured several Argentine players. Giuliano Simeone scored for the home side, while Nicolás González was sent off before halftime.
Atlético started with multiple Argentine players in the lineup, including Giuliano Simeone, Nicolás González, Nahuel Molina, Thiago Almada and Juan Musso. Julián Álvarez did not feature in the match.
Giuliano Simeone opened the scoring in the 39th minute. The forward made a run behind the defense, controlled a long pass and finished at the near post to give Atlético the lead. The advantage did not last long, as Barcelona equalized minutes later.
The match changed before halftime when Nicolás González received a red card. Playing in a defensive role on the left side, the Argentine was involved in several defensive actions and was sent off near the end of the first half after a foul on the edge of the box.
With one player less, Atlético played the second half under pressure.
Juan Musso had multiple interventions in goal and was named MVP of the match. The Argentine goalkeeper made several saves during the second half, including stops from distance and in one-on-one situations. Barcelona found the winning goal late in the match.
Nahuel Molina and Thiago Almada were also part of the starting lineup and completed the match.
Julián Álvarez was not included in the game. The forward had minutes with the Argentina national team during the international break and remained out of the squad.
With this result, Atlético Madrid lost at home before facing Barcelona again in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals next Wednesday.
Do anyone think nico playing under scaloni is same as nico playing under simeone. If nico was wearing Argentine Jersey, yamal would have realised the intensity of playing for the national team is different from club matches. Talent is not enough there. Skills are not enough there. Even messi faced it several times. And he learned it. The way Messi turned into Maradona’s intensity is what turned our team into world beaters. If it was 2014 messi, the skill would have been there, but even this team would have been a failure. Its that mindset that turned this team into world beaters.
To those of us excited by Nico Gonzalez playing as a LB, Simeone did us favor by fielding him against Yamal today.
Oh I completely forgot how $hit Molina was! Thanks to shocking display from Nico. 😆
Atleast give respect to nico and Molina. They gave it all for Argentina in the most important moments. Without nico in 2024 copa final the momentum would not have changed. Molina stepped up his game in the most crucial moments. And what did our talented generation of aguero, mascherano, riquelme, higuain, achieved? They defeated Germany in a useless friendly after the final and just flopped at the biggest stage. The same overhyped generation easily defeated chile in 2016 group stage of copa america. And lost to the same opponent in that same competition in the finals. And you now mocking nico and Molina for a useless league game even from atletico’s perspective. Even if atletico wins, nothing would have changed. Real or barca win the league. And atletico win or lose will play the UCL next season. Even if they are inconsistent, we need players who have to step up in crucial games. That’s enough. No need of high calibre players and choke in the important moments.
Can’t agree more! Performance for the national team matters. I don’t give a #$% about the club matches. However it was a good indirect test for Scaloni. Nico can support the defense on the left flank but not on his own. Even more natural wingbacks like Hakimi, Trent, or Cancelo had a lot of trouble dealing with fast and tricky wingers. Nico can’t do much. To deal with a player like Yamal, it needs a plan like Scaloni did to contain Mbappe in the first 80 minutes of the final match. Simeone just put Nico there and expect him to both keep Yamal in check, and make overlapping runs. Simply wouldn’t work.
Yeah. I mean scaloni wouldn’t put this disastrous tactic like making nico in a position which makes him vulnerable to yamal. Simeone is not a great coach. Atleast try nico as a wing back against less attacking team initially like scaloni gave against Zambia. And he can learn from experience