Barcelona player ratings vs Atletico: Messi was nothing special

Defensive Midfielder- Sergio Busquets- 8/10

A typical display was long overdue from Sergio Busquets and that came on the perfect occasion against Atletico Madrid. The Spaniard did amazingly to reduce the attackers’ options when the opponent countered and did not put in any clumsy challenges like he has in the recent matches. It was probably the best performance by Barcelona player, but Lucas Hernandez was man of the match for me. Busquets’ passing was not top-notch however, and he had a few of them intercepted easily.

Left Midfielder- Arthur Melo- 7.5/10

“The next Xavi” as he is often referred to as put in a wonderful display in his very first match against Atletico Madrid. Arthur resisted the physical press and used his speed extremely well when putting in a defensive shift, thanks to his knowledge of tons of similar South American teams. He also ran the match and kept feeding the ball. Barcelona would have been worse off had Arthur not been involved in the match or had an off day.

Right Midfielder- Sergi Roberto- 6/10

Sergi Roberto had to taken off at half time due to an injury but he performed well up until the break. The Spain international was looking sharp right from the beginning and was in the thick of it for whatever duration he played. Roberto attempted 39 passes and succeeded in completing 93% of them. Had he been playing at right back, Barcelona could have been more dangerous whilst going forward, but Roberto had to cover up for Rakitic’s suspension.