by It was to be him. Barcelona handed Atlético Madrid their first league win at the Metropolitano in over a year and João Félix was the man who hurt them because, well, of course he was.
The most expensive signing in the history of Atlético, the forward who still belongs to them but is desperate not to go back and would not be welcomed back either; the man who went to Barcelona on loan and scored the only goal when these two teams last met, jumping on the Montjuïc billboards and blowing a kiss to his former fans in December; the man who was whistled every time he touched the ball on his first trip back, he scored the opening goal. He did not celebrate this time, just as he promised, but he still got up.
That first-half strike was followed up in the second with goals from the excellent Robert Lewandowski, who scored one and made two, and Ferimín López as Barcelona secured a 3-0 win that moves them into second place, eight points off the top. , and that leaves. Diego Simeone’s team outside the Champions League places.
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“Why can’t we dream of the league?” Xavi said. The Barcelona manager also said that although Félix had only played 60% of the minutes this season, it was clear he was going to start on Sunday. After all, he had “extra motivation” – he wanted to be decisive and he was. Félix has now scored nine goals and provided five assists as a Barcelona player, and would love the chance to continue in Catalonia.
By the time Félix was withdrawn late in the second half, sinking all the way, it was done, Atlético’s promising start long forgotten and their record gone. They collected 40 out of 42 possible points at the Metropolitano; this time however, they had no answer to the moment the Portuguese scored their first, right in front of the supporters who, like him, hope he never wears his shirt again. Before the game, his plaque outside this stadium was trashed. Some supporters had his shirt burnt.
Ultimately, Barcelona were too good, too clinical, which it didn’t look like at the start. In the opening half hour Barcelona, which saw their deep and comprehensive midfielder Andreas Christensen withdraw after the warm-up, were unable to gain control of the game. Unable to gain possession in midfield, Marc André ter Stegen looked to hit the ball straight through in pursuit of Lewandowski at the other end. The four best passes that Barcelona played at that point came from Ter Stegen. So, it should be said, he did the worst, his delivery was weak which left Pablo Barrios hitting just wide after five minutes.
Every time Félix touched the ball, there were whistles, which mainly emphasized the fact that he touched it so rarely. When the 30th minute came, he had a total of just five and he was just that much of an outsider in the Barcelona game. Atlético were on the front foot.
Rodrigo Riquleme, Álvaro Morata and Nahuel Molina combined for the Argentine to come in for a shot that was blocked. Samuel Lino cut a ball into the area for Morata, which he could not control. Then a slick exchange saw Molina escape up the right. His cross to Lino was over the top but the Brazilian collected, and looked for Morata at the near post, forcing a sharp intervention from 17-year-old Pau Cubarsi.
However Atlético lacked precision, especially when it came to timing Morata’s runs, and the momentum soon slipped away. In three minutes, Barcelona created more than they had in 10 times more than that and, if Félix had little involvement, he is their most decisive.
Before he arrived, Lewandowski had clipped a looping cross to the far post for Raphinha to head just wide and Cubarsi had curled in a superb long pass which released López to draw a sharp save from Jan Oblak. The Portuguese then finished off a neat move to open the scoring.
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Ilkay Gündogan turned two opponents on each other and Lewandowski found a great pass, which he pulled back for Félix to head home. This time there was no jump on the billboards, but a small jump from one foot to another, and soon he went into a crowd of teammates, hidden from view, maybe not a bad thing. López aimed at him but Félix had said that he would not celebrate a goal and he did not aim at anyone.
Morata had a chance to equalize but it fizzled out, and he was withdrawn at half-time, with Memphis Depay and Antoine Griezmann brought on. Meanwhile Xavi was sent off again. Almost immediately though, the lead doubled. A mistake from Rodrigo de Paul gave Raphinha possession in the opening minute of the second period and he set up Lewandowski to score with a low shot.
Atlético chased, Ter Stegen making extraordinary double saves from Marcos Llorente and Depay, but it only got worse for the home side. Due to a movement that gave clarity to Gündogan, Lewandowski managed to cross for López, all alone in front of the goal, to go in the third place. At the end of the night, Félix changed shirts and went up the tunnel where former teammates and team members waited to receive him. “They know what happened; the people on the outside don’t do it, so I understand it,” said Félix. “Maybe I’m not the bad guy.”
