{"id":520701,"date":"2026-04-09T03:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T03:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/520701\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T03:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T03:02:08","slug":"simeone-ends-weird-nou-camp-hoodoo-as-rashford-fails-to-convince-barca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/520701\/","title":{"rendered":"Simeone ends weird Nou Camp hoodoo as Rashford fails to convince Barca"},"content":{"rendered":"

There isn\u2019t much Diego Simeone hasn\u2019t done at Atletico Madrid but finally, after 15 years, El Cholo is a winner at the Nou Camp.<\/p>\n

Was it worth the wait? Doubtless Simeone would rather have achieved this first much earlier than his 19th attempt, but the delayed gratification will only add to the buzz of a fabulous victory for Atletico against their all-too-familiar foe in the Champions League quarter-final.<\/p>\n

The Rojiblancos did a job on Barca. But don\u2019t fall into the trap of assuming it was a backs-to-the-wall triumph of defensive resilience.<\/p>\n

That isn\u2019t the Atletico way these days. Sure, they were tight, resilient and fought every duel in the manner Simeone himself would. But the Argentinian boss is a changed manager these days and Atletico are a different team to the one we all became used to.<\/p>\n

Keegan\u2019s Newcastle they are not, but Simeone, presumably against many of his natural instincts, has sacrificed some of the old defensive solidity for attacking fluidity. The best managers evolve, even one seemingly as set in his ways as Simeone, and Atletico are even better value as a result.<\/p>\n

We saw Atletico new and old in Barcelona. First, the new-ish.<\/p>\n

They took on Barca in consecutive games and went toe-to-toe with Hansi Flick\u2019s entertainers. Barca were the victors in Madrid at the weekend, but recognising an insurmountable deficit in La Liga, Simeone rested five key players, all restored for the big one tonight.<\/p>\n

The first half hour prompted parallels with last night\u2019s entertainment from Spain when Real Madrid and Bayern Munich cared not one jot for control. Two enthralling games featuring four teams, each going for the other\u2019s throat. Compared to some of the dross we\u2019ve become used to in the Premier League, this midweek has been a palate cleanser.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly given the managers\u2019 commitment to attack, both sides created clear openings early on. Marcus Rashford<\/a>, in from the start after his goal against Atletico on Saturday, was prominent in Barca\u2019s best moments but the Manchester United loanee was unable to make the moments matter.<\/p>\n

All the signs suggest Barca are keen to keep Rashford, even if we should prepare for the Catalans to play silly beggars over the fee<\/a>. United must stand firm because \u00a326million is still a steal. If Barca won\u2019t pay it, there are plenty who will, even if Rashford would prefer to stay in his \u2018happy place\u2019.<\/p>\n

That being true, the England striker really needed to seize one of his seven chances, the second of which was his clearest.<\/p>\n

Rashford is clearly very keen to impress and his appetite must irk United fans who watched him stroll through the final days of his Old Trafford career. But that eagerness appeared to prompt a lack of ruthlessness in his finishing.<\/p>\n

When Rashford\u2019s fourth attempt failed, the presumption was there would be more given how open the game was. But the game swung shortly after, just before the break, when Giuliano Simeone was clipped as he burst in behind Pau Cubarsi.<\/p>\n

We were as surprised as Simeone when a yellow card was initially issued. DOGSO all day long. And so it was confirmed by VAR.<\/p>\n

It was bad enough for Barca before Julian Alvarez curled in a stunning free-kick, prompting memories of Lionel Messi\u2019s worldie against Liverpool at the same end in 2019.<\/p>\n

MORE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Liverpool set for \u2018toxic\u2019 European night at Anfield after PSG thumping<\/a><\/p>\n

Then it was over to the managers at half-time. Flick made a double change, one of them seeing Robert Lewandowski withdrawn with Rashford\u2019s pace deployed through the middle. All the while, Simeone succumbed slightly to his natural instincts.<\/p>\n

Rather than seek to capitalise on their spare man in possession, Atletico chose to use their advantage defensively, perhaps expecting the onslaught to come from their wounded hosts.<\/p>\n

Simeone recognised there was no need to go chasing the second goal they would regret not scoring. With the attacking quality at his disposal and Barca\u2019s tendency to give up opportunities, the chance would come.<\/p>\n

His patience paid. And then some. At the end of one of Atletico\u2019s rare periods of possession as Barca\u2019s intensity waned, Simeone\u2019s sub Alexander Sorloth swept home left-back Matteo Ruggeri\u2019s fine cross.<\/p>\n

The confidence from Barca drained as Atletico\u2019s grew. The hosts remained on the front foot but more in hope than belief.<\/p>\n

Upon the final whistle, Simeone darted straight up the tunnel. Read into that what you will. Maybe he wanted to savour the moment by himself away from the cameras. Or perhaps it was dash designed to illustrate an understanding that the job remains a long way from finished, despite a once-in-a-generation success for Atletico at the Nou Camp.<\/p>\n

If so, it wasn\u2019t necessary. Simeone may have evolved but not to the extent that he will allow himself or anyone else to feel too snug with a two-goal advantage.<\/p>\n

Because Barca are still in the tie. This was Atletico\u2019s first win at the Nou Camp in 20 years but Barca\u2019s last victory at the Metropolitano was four days ago. Flick saw enough to believe in Barca, and Simeone will have buzzed off Atletico.<\/p>\n

For them and for us, next Tuesday can\u2019t come soon enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There isn\u2019t much Diego Simeone hasn\u2019t done at Atletico Madrid but finally, after 15 years, El Cholo is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64034,3709,25822,448,59,348,1428,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-520701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-diego-simeone","9":"tag-f365-features","10":"tag-f365-says","11":"tag-front-page","12":"tag-gb","13":"tag-home-page","14":"tag-marcus-rashford","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}