Barcelona's play really impressed me; Athletico Madrid also had excellent chances, but their finishing were bad. I first assumed that Athletico Madrid would make the match difficult for Barcelona, but I was quite disappointed by their performance, especially their defensemen.
I think Barcelona's playing has really improved. Many fans blamed Xavi for not having a coaching strategy, but he is one of my top three favourite coaches this season because it is not easy to manage a team that does not have funds, and he is doing his best because he is currently second in the La Liga table and he still managed the team to the Champions League quarterfinals, which I'm hoping to see Barcelona in the Champions League final.
I thought Athletico Madrid would be difficult for Barcelona to win against in the league, but Barcelona surprised me with an easy win against Athletico Madrid at home. Barcelona's performance has improved lately, and it has helped them get some good results. Barcelona is now in second place in the La Liga table.
Considering the situation we are at in this moment, we could say that it is not really about ATM being a bad team, but it is more about the fact that we are going to end up with something that will take a bit of a while, and not going to be all that easy. I can definitely assume that it is going to end up being a bit of a trouble, but we should consider this to be a bit better for them because they are really not going to be amazing at league and finish fourth and go to UCL anyway so there is nothing changing for them.
What we should look at is their Inter win, that means that we are seeing them at quarter finals and if they are lucky then maybe even semi finals, not sure if they can do that. This is where they are focusing right now.