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Champions League | Quarter-Finals
Apr 9, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
BL

1-0

Koke (6')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Match Analysis: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Barcelona

:Headline: Match Analysis: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Barcelona: ID:149047: from db_amp
Sports Mole's analysis of the Champions League quarter-final second leg between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.

Atletico Madrid booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals with a 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday evening.

Koke's early goal was enough for Los Rojiblancos, who edged past their La Liga rivals 2-1 over the two legs.

Diego Simeone's men will be joined by neighbours Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the final four of Europe's premier competition.

Below Sports Mole dissects the game in detail to provide analysis of the quarter-final second leg.

Match statistics

Atletico Madrid
Shots: 15
On target: 5
Possession: 29
Corners: 6
Fouls: 15

Barcelona
Shots: 12
On target: 3
Possession: 71
Corners: 9
Fouls:

Was the result fair?

In a word, yes. Atletico Madrid could have been home and hosed within the first 15 minutes. They hit the woodwork three times and had chances on the break in the second half with Gabi guilty of spurning the best of those. Barcelona were quiet. Neymar had their best chance with a glancing header, while Xavi and Lionel Messi also had headed efforts that went close.

Atletico Madrid's performance

Defensively, Atleti were superb, as usual. They kept Barcelona quiet for the majority of the game, and Messi hardly had a kick. That takes some doing. They were also without their talisman in Diego Costa, and made light of the 33-goal forward's absence to come up with a huge win. First class from Diego Simeone and his men.

Barcelona's performance

Gerardo Martino's side were poor throughout. They had the lion's share of possession as usual, but Atletico were content with that. Very rarely did Barcelona threaten in behind the Atleti defence. The coach sent on Pedro and Alexis Sanchez, and they couldn't inspire them. Poor all round, and you feel that Martino could be given the sack at the end of the season.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Raul Garcia:

Raul Garcia was excellent all game, time and again he used the ball well, and his long pass for Cristian Rodriguez late on was inch perfect before the Uruguayan forced Jose Pinto into a good save. Just edges out Koke and Adrian.

Biggest gaffe

Pinto nearly cost his side by dwelling on the ball early on, exposed with the ball at his feet. It got stuck between his legs moments after the first goal, which nearly led to David Villa stealing in and making it 2-0.

Referee performance

Howard Webb generally did well, but he failed to award a spot kick for Atletico when Villa was bundled over by Javier Mascherano in the second half. The Argentina defender barged into his opponent's back, which Webb ajudged to have been a shoulder-to-shoulder contact.

What next?

Atletico travel to Getafe on Sunday, while Barcelona are also away at Granada. Both teams will be expected to win as they duel it out for the La Liga title with Real Madrid, who are third.

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid33266171224984
2GironaGirona33225669402971
3Barcelona32217464372770
4Atletico MadridAtletico33204962392364
5Athletic Bilbao331610753332058
6Real Sociedad331312846351151
7Real BetisBetis33121384139249
8Valencia32138113534147
9Villarreal33129125455-145
10Getafe331013104145-443
11Osasuna33116163749-1239
12Sevilla33911134246-438
13AlavesAlaves33108153138-738
14Las PalmasLas Palmas33107163041-1137
15Rayo Vallecano33713132742-1534
16Mallorca33614132739-1232
17Celta Vigo33710163750-1331
18CadizCadiz33414152346-2326
19Granada3349203661-2521
RAlmeria33111213267-3514
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