Atlético commit suicide against Barcelona

Atlético Madrid's defeat to Barcelona was not merely three points lost in the La Liga race. It was a mirror that revealed the scale of the questions hanging over the Rojiblancos.

As the Catalans celebrated their side's ability to rise from the rubble, Atlético faced a painful truth. They had squandered the perfect chance to topple an opponent within reach, and paid the price for the absence of their decisive star at the very moment they needed him most.

Kiko Narváez and Manu Carreño, speaking on "El Larguero" on "Cadena SER" radio, agreed on a single diagnosis. Atlético were the closer side and Barcelona the more fragile, yet the one who settled the match knew how to correct his mistakes, while the one who wasted it never found his hero.

Atlético squandered the chance of a lifetime

Narváez, the former Atlético star, believes this was a setback that cannot be played down, especially after a second consecutive defeat on home soil.

He spoke in a sharp tone: "The conclusion is that today we were capable of exploiting Barcelona's weaknesses. On Tuesday against Bayern Munich I saw a team on a completely different level to ours. I was not satisfied with Simeone's substitutions, nor with the second half."

The bitter taste of this defeat still lingers, he added, because the team had everything it needed to turn the tables but lacked the boldness and the right decision at the decisive moment.

Carreño, the renowned Spanish broadcaster, did not hide his concern about Barcelona's defensive display. At the same time, he insisted it was Atlético who handed their opponent a lifeline.

"I once again saw a Barcelona that was extremely fragile defensively against the big teams," Carreño said. "The result would have been completely different had Atlético Madrid taken their chances."

He reserved praise, though, for German coach Hansi Flick, reckoning he emerged from the match stronger than before: "Flick comes out of this match stronger, because he managed to correct the mistakes that appeared in the first half."

Julián Álvarez: at the heart of the storm

One name dominated the debate: Julián Álvarez. The Argentine forward who came to Madrid to be the number one star found himself the target of the harshest criticism since his arrival.

Carreño did not hesitate to deliver his verdict: "He has not yet shown that he is worth 100 or 150 million. I still consider him among the good forwards, not among the stars. Atlético need a forward capable of settling matches. Julián has to take another step forward, he is not a player who makes the difference."

He went on: "He should have shown the best of what he has against Barcelona. He still lacks that extra something which he has not yet found. There is no player like him in the team, and as Simeone said: (Without Julián, we will not achieve our goals). It is his way of showing his support, but at the same time it puts pressure on him."

Narváez shared the same opinion, though from the angle of the star who must shoulder the responsibility: "He missed two practically guaranteed chances."

Julián is the team's undisputed star, he pointed out, so the standards by which he is judged must be different. The great stars are not measured by what they produce against small teams, but by what they do in the matches that make the season.

For all the sharpness of the criticism, Narváez was keen to send a message to the Atlético fans. Simeone still trusts his forward, he insisted, urging them not to jeer him, because excessive pressure at this stage could backfire.

The criticism did not stop at Álvarez. It extended to the way Diego Simeone handles transfer deals and manages the big matches. The Argentine coach, the analysis went, has not found the combination that gives the team a cutting edge in the decisive moments, and his substitutions were not enough to change the course of the game against Barcelona.