It was Alfred Schreuder's second test of managing the first team – did he pass it?
Starting XI
Barca's starting line-up didn't differ much from the one that started the Valencia encounter. However, there was one important change as Oscar Mingueza started the game instead of Ronald Araujo.
Did this change cost us the game? Well, in some way. Mingueza was definitely among our worst performers against Atletico while Araujo's emergence instantly turned things around for us - both defensively and offensively.
Other than that, we couldn't expect Schreuder to go for any drastic changes. Most benched players lacked match fitness or simply weren't good enough to start this big game.
Subs
As we mentioned already, putting Araujo on was a superb decision.
Ousmane Dembele turned Barca's attack into a chance-creating machine but was this sub made on time? Perhaps Schreuder should've acted faster for Barca to have more chances of getting the game-winning goal.
As for Ilaix Moriba and Sergi Roberto, those two players didn't have much impact on the game – Miralem Pjanic or Riqui Puig could've probably been better picks as Sergio Busquets' substitutes.
Manager rating: 5/10
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Poor 1st half, fiery ending: Rating Barca's team performance vs Atletico
1st half
Barcelona didn't have many chances in front of Jan Oblak's goal. Our attackers were struggling to find spaces upfront and only Leo Messi's individual brilliance almost helped us open the scoring.
Barca had an awful defensive display in the first 45 minutes but Marc-Andre ter Stegen came to the rescue when it really mattered. The Catalans' defenders provided plenty of space for Luis Suarez, Thomas Lemar and looked careless at set pieces.
1st-half rating: 3/10
2nd half
Barca started to create chances immediately after the whistle and were unlucky not to find the net in the first minutes of the second half. Blaugrana also regained possession and didn't let Atletico do much in their own half.
Barcelona looked quite dangerous at set pieces as Ronald Araujo came on after the break.
The Catalans' attacking display even improved as Ousmane Dembele entered the pitch – yet it wasn't enough for Ronald Koeman's side to make the difference.
2nd-half rating: 8/10
Full-time rating: 5/10
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Koeman's assistant coach names one episode that turned things around for Atletico
"We played a good game. We controlled it until Busquets had to leave the pitch. At the end of the first half, we had problems, without Busquets, against a good team like Atletico," Ronald Koeman's assistant coach Alfred Schreuder has told the media after the 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid.
"There was certain disorganization in the midfield when Busquets had to leave, a player who always gives us a lot of confidence. At half time we talked about it and we improved the game in midfield," Schreuder added.
Sergio Busquets was forced to leave the pitch in the first half after picking up an injury. Ilaix Moriba replaced him but the youngster didn't have much impact on Barca's play.
