It could have happened and it has ended up happening: the hot notes of Atlético de Madrid - Barça (and III)

BarcelonaIt wasn't meant to be. Barça, eliminated from the Champions League after falling just short of a comeback (1-2). Despite finishing with ten players, the Catalans pushed until the end. Here are some immediate thoughts.

Even though it hurts. It's incredible that Barça tries to make history with six Catalans, one Valencian, one from the Canary Islands, one from Andalusia, one Frenchman, and one Portuguese in the lineup. Let's focus on that. Of the eleven players who went out to dominate the Metropolitano pitch, five were trained at La Masia and only three involved a significant transfer fee. Only Cancelo, re-signed this winter with 31 years on his legs, raises the average age of the youngest team Barça has fielded in a Champions League knockout tie in history, according to data from journalist Oriol Jové. A group led by the most fearless and uninhibited: Lamine Yamal. He was already the undisputed best in the world before a tie that re-enthrones him, even though it ended in defeat. Heads held high, lads. There will be more.

Lenglet's gifts. Present in Barça's grueling European defeats against Liverpool and Bayern, the French defender compensated his former team, which paid for him to leave last summer, with two demeritorious actions in the two blaugrana goals, which were insufficient. Lamine Yamal took advantage of a terrible pass from him on the exit to beat Musso for 0-1 and Ferran left him behind with extreme ease before scoring 0-2. In the same way that Cubarsí's red card conditioned the tie in the first leg, Pubill's yellow card and Hancko's injury reduced the solidity of the colchonero shield. Wow, what a downgrade for Lenglet in recent times. Where has that elegant center-back with the ball and strong in tackles gone?

With everything against them... of Lenglet in recent times. Where has that elegant defender with the ball and decisive in his marking gone?

The power of the benches. It is also the responsibility of the elected president that Flick can face a second leg of the tie with more resources. It is exciting that the German fields such a young and sharp eleven against European giants, but when it comes down to it, it is a huge penalty not to have a bench to change things when needed. Let's look at the substitutions. If Simeone ended up tipping the scales of the match with Sorloth and Baena, Barça ended up losing its chances with the entries of Lewandowski and Rashford for Ferran and Fermín. It also weighed considerably that Pedri, visibly diminished from the first minute, completed the match due to lack of oxygen and alternatives. Champions are won with a squad, not with Araujo playing as a center forward.