Barcelona v Atlético: reaction and analysis
Friday, March 18, 2016
Article summary
Barcelona have a perfect record against quarter-final opponents Atlético Madrid under Luis Enrique – even so, Rojiblancos coach Diego Simeone says the tie makes him "very excited".
Article top media content
Article body
- First leg: Barcelona v Atlético Madrid, Tuesday 5 April
- Second leg: Atlético Madrid v Barcelona, Wednesday 13 April
Facts about the tie
- Barcelona and Atlético met in the 2013/14 quarter-finals, Atlético winning 1-0 at home after a 1-1 away draw. Koke scored the only goal at the Vicente Calderón after Neymar had cancelled out Diego's strike for Atleti at the Camp Nou.
- Barcelona have won the last six matches between the sides, including two 2-1 Liga victories this season.
- Barcelona's home record against Atlético in all competition is P110 W63 D28 L19. Atlético's home record against Barça reads P110 W51 D23 L36.
- This is the third year running Atlético have played Spanish opposition in the quarter-finals – they lost 1-0 to Real Madrid over two legs 12 months ago.
- Barcelona beat another Spanish team, Sevilla, 5-4 in Tbilisi to lift the UEFA Super Cup in August.
- Overall Barcelona have won six of their 22 games against Spanish rivals in Europe, drawing six and losing ten.
- Atlético have won seven and lost six of their 17 European fixtures against fellow Liga sides.
- Lionel Messi has scored 25 goals in 27 matches against Atlético, including three hat-tricks.
Expert comment
The Spanish media were desperate to avoid an all-Spanish tie, but for the third season in succession Atlético will face their compatriots in the last eight. Diego Simeone will take some heart from 2013/14, when his team downed Barça over two legs, yet there is no escaping the fact the Catalans are 38 games unbeaten and have won their last six against the Rojiblancos. The Liga's highest scorers versus the Liga's stingiest defence – it should be enthralling. Joseph Walker
Reaction
Diego Simeone, Atlético coach
They're a serious opponent and what could be better for us than to play the best in the world? It makes me very excited.
Clemente Villaverde, Atlético Madrid director
The important thing is that we are in the quarter-finals for the third year in a row. Luck has decided that our opponents are Barcelona and we'll take it. You have to fight against Barça. There's two legs and you have to play the full 90 minutes in Barcelona and Madrid. The tie is 50-50 because we've shown how strong we are in the Liga. We should stick with what we know.
