Atletico Madrid will face Barcelona next week in the Champions League quarter-finals. There is one player Atletico coach Diego Simeone should have on the pitch when the Catalan giant is on the other side of the halfway line. This player is Alexander Sørloth. So why on earth did it take an hour before the super striker was inserted into Saturday’s La Liga match against the same opponent?
Because if there is one striker in La Liga Barcelona has really struggled with, it is Sørloth. First at Real Sociedad, then Villareal, then the last two seasons at Atletico Madrid. In December 2025, the surprising event came that Sørloth walked off the field without scoring. Surprising, because “our man” had then scored in six games in a row (!) against Barcelona (for Real Sociedad, Villareal, Atletico Madrid). In total, Sørloth stands with 7 goals against Barcelona, in addition to three assists.
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On Saturday, there was again time before the meeting with Barcelona, but Simeone kept Sørloth on the bench for the first hour. When the “Barcelona killer” was put on the pitch, it was already too late. Atletico struggled with 10 players after being sent off before half-time, and Sørloth’s role was completely different. There was no shortage of drama in the match that ended with a 1-2 win for Barcelona, but we do not understand why the Atletico coach does not use his most in-form attacker in 2026 with 9 goals.
We hope Simeone has learned by Wednesday. Then it will be a blast against Hansi Flick’s men in the Champions League. Atletico need Sørloth at the top from the start.
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