For the Atlético Madrid manager, Messi was the only difference between Barca and his club
Diego Simeone did not consider Atletico Madrid to be any better against Barcelona on Saturday than in previous fixtures, with Lionel Messi’s absence more likely to be the deciding factor for the Colchoneros boss. Atletico have not had a good result against Barca since Simeone was at the club, with 20 games without a win in this clash ahead of his 1-0 success in 2020-21.
Without Messi, not the same mayonnaise
Barca had 70.4 percent of possession but only shot nine times for an expected 1.0 goal at Wanda Metropolitano. Messi, the new signing of Paris Saint-Germain, had scored 26 goals in 30 La Liga appearances against Atleti and his absence was noticeable in the last duel. “This is the first game we have played against Barca without Messi,” the Argentina coach said at a press conference. ” The other games there weren’t very different from this one, but there, Messi was not there ”.