It’s goalless at the break in the LaLiga contest between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou. The visitors have had decent opportunities in front of goal, but poor finishing and fine work from Marc-Andre ter Stegen has denied them the lead. Lionel Messi produced Barca’s best opening, but saw his effort brilliantly saved Jan Oblak. It’s all to play for in the second half.
45′ + 4′ HALF-TIME: BARCELONA 0-0 ATLETICO MADRID
45′ + 2′ Simeone will be frustrated with his side’s finishing this afternoon. They’ve had the better of the opportunities, but have not been able to punish Barca.
45′ There will be four minutes of added time.
45′ OVER! Felipe snatches at a low cross in from the right flank from Correa following an Atletico corner and blazes a left-footed strike over the bar.
43′ Carrasco is played into space down the left flank and he produces a marauding run into the Barcelona box. He cuts back to shoot on his right foot, but he gets crowded out and his eventual strike is blocked by Pique.
41′ CLOSE! Messi weaves his way brilliantly through the Atletico defence, skipping past three challenges in a run from the right flank. He pulls the trigger on a left-footed strike that Oblak stretches and just manages to turn wide of the right post.
39′ Messi tries to send Griezmann down the left-inside channel, but the Frenchman moves a fraction too soon and is caught offside.
38′ Atletico are finding holes in the Barcelona defence and are looking the more likely side to break the deadlock.
37′ SAVE! Ter Stegen does brilliantly to deny a powerful left-footed strike from Carrasco low to his right. His next action is more impressive as he springs to his feet to push the rebound behind away from the lurking presence of Suarez. Top keeping from the German.
35′ Saul pulls back Messi on the charge down the right flank and goes into the book.
34′ CHANCE! Suarez takes a neat touch down the left flank and bursts into the box. He does not have a great deal of support so he goes for a strike from a tight angle that is repelled by Ter Stegen.
33′ SAVE! Atletico stretch the Barcelona defence down the left flank as Koke releases Carrasco. The Belgian cuts a low ball back for Llorente to strike, but his scuffed effort is well saved by Ter Stegen with one hand before Pique clears the danger.
Ilaix Kourouma
Sergio Busquets
32′ Moriba replaces Busquets for the home side, which will likely force De Jong into a deeper role in front of the back four.
31′ No Busquets is struggling. The Spaniard will have to make way here. He perhaps should not have returned to the field.
30′ Busquets returns to the field for the home side, which will be a relief for Koeman as there is no direct replacement on the bench.
29′ SAVE! A quick ball over the top from De Jong finds Griezmann in space on the edge of the Atletico box. The Frenchman shoots on his left foot, but sends his effort straight at Oblak.
28′ Busquets has to leave the field temporarily for further treatment and a concussion test.
27′ Savic and Busquets have a clash of heads, leaving the Barcelona midfielder down on the deck in need of treatment for a bloody nose.
26′ Carrasco gets the better of Mingueza in the middle of the park and is pulled back by the Barca defender. The visitors get the free-kick.
25′ Barca try to play their way through the Atletico backline on the edge of the box, but the red and white shirts hold a firm line to halt the home side.
22′ Pique and Suarez collide for the second time of the game and the Atletico forward wins a free-kick inside the Barca half.
20′ Barcelona are on their mettle at the back and Koke’s cross is claimed by Ter Stegen at the back post with a solid reach.
19′ CHALLENGE! Lenglet makes a vital intervention in the box to deny Correa. Hermoso makes a good run into the left-inside channel to latch on to Saul’s offload. He works a low cross into the middle that Correa attacks, but Lenglet sticks out a leg to divert his strike wide of the left post.
16′ Messi works the ball short to Dest to flick a cross into the box, but Felipe guides it away from Pique.
15′ Hermoso brings down Dest on the charge down the right flank and gives away a free-kick in a dangerous spot.
Saúl
T. Lemar
13′ Lemar is forced off with an ankle injury and is replaced by Saul on the left flank.
13′ Lemar is struggling with an injury and may have to make way for the visitors.
12′ Carrasco has to be alert at the back to poke Messi’s throughball for the run of Dest in the right-inside channel behind for a corner.
10′ SAVE! Suarez lifts an effort over the wall from the resulting free-kick, but he curls his strike straight into the hands of Ter Stegen.
9′ Suarez is brought down on the edge of the Barcelona box by Pique and the referee awards a free-kick to the visitors.
7′ Barca opt for the short free-kick, which is disrupted by the visitors with relative ease.
6′ Messi wins a free-kick just inside the Atletico half after being fouled by Hermoso.
5′ Barca are trying to get their foot on the ball to establish a rhythm in their possession game in the Atletico half.
3′ Lemar makes a break at the Barca defence and shoots with power on his right foot from the left-inside channel, but Ter Stegen saves his effort with ease.
1′ We’re underway at Camp Nou.
Barcelona have lost just one of their 21 last LaLiga games against Atletico Madrid (W14 D6), 0-1 in the reserve fixture this season. The last season the Blaugranas lost home and away in the league against Atletico was 2005/06 (1-2 at Vicente Calderon and 1-3 at Camp Nou).
Atletico have made two changes to their side that overcame Eibar in their lasting out. Felipe returns to the line-up in place of Gimenez, who drops to the bench. Simeone can operate with a back three or back four using the flexibility of Trippier and Carrasco. Koke returns to the fold to replace Kondogbia in the middle of the park alongside Llorente.
Barcelona have made only one change to their side that beat Valencia during the week. Mingueza gets the start in the back three alongside Lenglet and Pique in place of Araujo, who drops to the bench. Pedri and De Jong sit in behind Griezmann and Messi in the final third.
ATLETICO MADRID SUBS: Ivo Grbic, Jose Gimenez, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Lucas Torreira, Joao Felix, Saul Niguez, Renan Lodi, Hector Herrera, Moussa Dembele, Vitolo, Sime Vrsaljko.
ATLETICO MADRID (4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Kieran Trippier, Stefan Savic, Felipe, Mario Hermoso; Yannick Carrasco, Koke, Marcos Llorente, Thomas Lemar; Luis Suarez, Angel Correa.
BARCELONA SUBS: Ronald Araujo, Miralem Pjanic, Martin Braithwaite, Ousmane Dembele, Riqui Puig, Neto, Trincao, Sergi Roberto, Samuel Umtiti, Junior Firpo, Ilaix Moriba, Arnau Tenas.
BARCELONA (3-1-4-2): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Oscar Mingueza, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet; Sergio Busquets; Sergino Dest, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Jordi Alba; Antoine Griezmann, Lionel Messi.
Atletico have held top spot in LaLiga since the beginning of November and cannot afford to relinquish their advantage. Diego Simeone knows that a win over Barca would effectively end the Catalan club’s late surge for the crown, therefore, there is plenty of incentive for Los Rojiblancos to raise the level of their game to defeat them on the road. Atletico beat Eibar last time out, recovering from a 2-1 loss to Athletic Bilbao. Only Atletico’s best will be good enough today.
Barcelona bounced back from a surprise defeat to Granada by edging out Valencia last time out by a 3-2 margin. It was a close contest at the Mestalla, but Ronald Koeman’s men were able to respond after going behind to take the three points courtesy of a brace from Lionel Messi and a strike from Antoine Griezmann. The Catalan club have a huge opportunity to surpass Atletico at the top of the table with a victory this afternoon to shake up the title race.
Good afternoon and welcome to the live commentary of the LaLiga clash between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou.
Saúl
Yellow Card