LOS Rojiblancos and Los Azulgranas have been facing each other in LaLiga Santander for decades and here’s all you need to know about how this rivalry has developed through the ages.
Since LaLiga Santander began in 1929, Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona have faced each other a total of 170 times in league matches, with this fixture pitting two of the most successful teams in LaLiga against each other each season.
When was the first Atlético de Madrid vs FC Barcelona match played?
One of the main curiosities of FC Barcelona vs Atlético de Madrid is when they played their first match in LaLiga Santander. It was in the 1928/29 season, specifically on March 10th 1929, with Atleti running out 4-1 winners. Los Colchoneros, who were playing at their home stadium, beat Barça in the first match between these two storied LaLiga teams thanks to braces from Cosme and Yllera. Parera scored Barça’s consolation that day, while it was Cosme, who scored after five minutes, who netted the first goal in the history of Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona’s LaLiga clashes.
Who has won this match more times, Atlético de Madrid or FC Barcelona?
The historic record favours Barça, who’ve picked up 76 wins in 170 matches against Atleti. Los Rojiblancos, meanwhile, have managed to beat FC Barcelona on 52 occasions. The two teams have tied in 42 matches.
Which player has played the most Atlético de Madrid vs FC Barcelona matches?
Across almost a century of LaLiga football, many of the very best players in league history have represented these sides. Since the turn of the century, however, Lionel Messi is the player who has played this precious encounter the most times, with a total of 30 matches against Atlético. He is followed by Andrés Iniesta with 26, and Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique, both of whom played 25 times against Los Colchoneros. For Atleti, current captain Koke Resurrección leads the way with 22 appearances in this classic league encounter.
Which player has scored the most goals in Atlético de Madrid vs FC Barcelona matches?
The top scorer in the history of Barça vs Atleti is, unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi, with a total of 26 goals in 30 matches. These numbers are only within reach of the best. César Rodríguez, the second-highest scorer, also played for Barça, while Paco Campos (12) and Fernando Torres (8) have led the way against the Catalans for Atleti.
The highest-scoring FC Barcelona vs Atlético de Madrid match was back in 2006/07 when Los Blaugrana beat Atleti 6-0 at their old Estadio Vicente Calderón. The locals had almost no answer to the attacking thrust of the visitors, who came out on top thanks to goals from Messi (2), Gianluca Zambrotta, Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Andrés Iniesta.
LaLiga Santander Matchday 30 preview: FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid do battle on Sunday, following a heavyweight Saturday
Matchday 30 promises to be an important weekend in the 2022/23 LaLiga Santander season, not least because two of the top three are facing off as FC Barcelona host Atlético de Madrid at the Spotify Camp Nou. As well as that top-of-the-table tussle, there are also several key duels in the relegation battle.
One of those relegation six-pointers is the opening match of the round when RCD Espanyol hosted Cádiz CF. The Catalan club are currently inside the relegation zone and is on a terrible run of form with six defeats in a row, but they’ll know that victory against the Andalusian side – who are coached by former Perico Sergio González – would bring them up to within one point of Cádiz CF.
There are five fixtures taking place this Saturday instead of the usual four, the first of which is CA Osasuna vs Real Betis. Both of these clubs are hoping to qualify for European football next season, while Real Betis will be seeking revenge after losing on penalties to the Pamplona-based team in this season’s Copa del Rey.
Next up is Athletic Club’s trip to the other side of the peninsula to take on UD Almería. The Andalusian side has an impressive home record, but Athletic Club will travel with confidence as they just won the Basque Derby and star forward Iñaki Williams has netted in his past three matches.
There are then two games taking place simultaneously at the 18:30 CEST timeslot, with Real Sociedad at home to Rayo Vallecano and Real Valladolid at home to Girona FC. The first will be a fascinating tactical tussle between Basque coaches Imanol Alguacil and Andoni Iraola, while the latter will see the attack-minded sides of Paulo Pezzolano and Míchel doing battle.
Real Madrid is at home on Saturday night, taking on RC Celta at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. This is a fixture that has produced a lot of goals over recent years, with 19 goals scored across their past four meetings, an average of 4.75 per game. RC Celta hasn’t defeated Los Blancos in LaLiga Santander since 2014, but Carlos Carvalhal has the Galicians playing good football and feeling confident, so anything could happen.
Sunday starts off with a huge match, as Elche CF host Valencia CF in a meeting of two Valencian Community sides who currently find themselves in the relegation zone. While Elche CF is rock bottom, Valencia CF is only three points away from safety as they enter Matchday 30 and they’ll view this as a must-win fixture if they’re to stay up. The pressure will be on Los Che, so it’ll be worth tuning in to see how they cope with it.
At 16:15 CEST, there is a blockbuster duel between FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid, the two teams with the most points in the 2023 calendar year. Antoine Griezmann is in stellar form as he returns to Catalonia to take on his former club and he’ll hope to lead Atleti to what would be a seventh league win in a row.
RCD Mallorca vs Getafe CF follows, which will be a meeting of two defensively solid sides who boast star strikers in attack, in the form of Vedat Muriqi and Enes Ünal. They have 12 and 13 goals respectively, with only Robert Lewandowski and Karim Benzema boasting more.
The final match of the round takes place at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, where confidence has returned thanks to the turnaround that new coach José Luis Mendilibar has orchestrated at Sevilla FC. They have moved away from the relegation zone, but still need a few more points to make sure of survival so they’ll go all out to try to defeat Quique Setién’s Villarreal CF outfit. That night-time match will take place in front of an electric atmosphere, which will be the perfect way to conclude the matchday.
Five reasons not to miss this weekend’s crunch clash between Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona
From the duels between the goalkeepers and the coaches to the presence of star players like Griezmann, this is one game you won’t want to miss!
The first LaLiga Santander weekend of 2023 is just around the corner and this first round of the new year has one especially important match: FC Barcelona’s visit to the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano to face Atlético de Madrid. These are two of the best-supported teams in the competition and they’re always near the top of the table. They’ll now meet in a contest that has many interesting aspects to consider, with FC Barcelona joint-top and immersed in the fight for the title, while the home side form part of a busy group of clubs jostling for Champions League qualification spots. Both sides will give their all to achieve victory and three fundamental points.
Barça’s recent struggles at the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano
FC Barcelona has failed to score in their last two visits to Los Colchoneros’ stadium, both of which have ended in defeats for Los Culés. In 2020/21, FC Barcelona lost 1-0 to Atlético de Madrid, while in the subsequent 2021/22 season they lost 2-0 in the same fixture. This is a run that Los Blaugranas will want to break to start 2023 on the front foot. Plus, in their last game of last year, against RCD Espanyol at the Spotify Camp Nou, they drew a match that they had within their grasp, so they’ll be extra determined to start the new calendar year with a victory that would keep them at the top of the standings in the fight for the league title.
Unfinished business from the World Cup
Out on the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano pitch there will be a handful of players who recently faced each other during the World Cup final in Qatar. For Atlético de Madrid, they have three world champions in the form of Nahuel Molina, Rodrigo de Paul and Ángel Correa. In the visitors, there are two players who lost that World Cup final when representing France, in Jules Koundé and Ousmane Dembelé. They will surely want some revenge.
A battle of Zamora-level goalkeepers
The match could be decided by the two great goalkeepers who’ll be playing. Jan Oblak is one of the most regular winners of the Zamora Award for the best goalkeeper of each Spanish football season, having won the trophy five times. In the opposite goal, meanwhile, will be Marc-André ter Stegen who, defending FC Barcelona’s goalposts, has become one of the main favourites to claim the Zamora Trophy this 2022/23 season. For the moment, he is clear at the top of those standings with only six goals conceded in 15 games played (for a coefficient of 0.40 per game), compared to 12 goals conceded in 15 games played (0.80) by Oblak.
Griezmann takes on his former teammates
Last season, Antoine Griezmann was on loan at Atlético de Madrid from FC Barcelona, but, as of last October, the Frenchman has become a permanent member of Los Rojiblancos’ squad once more. After his outstanding performance at the World Cup, he will have an important challenge this weekend as he goes up against his former teammates to try to prove that he will be one of the LaLiga Santander stars in 2023.
A clash of styles
Another of the highlights of this match will be the fact that fans can watch a very interesting clash of styles, as this duel involves two very different coaches. Diego Simeone will face Xavi Hernández and they have two very different ways of playing. The possession football of Los Azulgranas will have a tough test against the more physical and intense style of play that has been used by Atlético de Madrid ever since their Argentine coach has been in their dugout.
Griezmann and 10 other LaLiga stars who left and then returned to their previous clubs
Antoine Griezmann left Atlético de Madrid in 2019 and then returned in 2021, but he’s not the only player who eventually went back to a team that he’d departed.
Antoine Griezmann
Between 2014 and 2019, Antoine Griezmann became the leader of Atlético de Madrid’s attack and netted 133 goals to become the fifth-highest scorer in Rojiblanco history. So impressive was Griezmann for club and country, winning the 2018 World Cup with France, that FC Barcelona decided to sign him in 2019 after almost securing his services in 2018. Despite scoring 35 goals in two seasons in Catalonia, he never seemed to fully fit in and a move back to Atleti materialised at the end of the 2021 summer transfer window. “Knowing that Atleti wanted me back, I wanted to return no matter what and this is the best place for me to be happy on and off the pitch,” Griezmann said before his re-debut with Los Rojiblancos, where he is now a permanent member of the squad.
Gerard Piqué
Gerard Piqué was just 10 years old when he joined FC Barcelona’s academy. After climbing through the various youth categories at La Masia, his first professional contract then came with Manchester United in England. Piqué later debuted in LaLiga Santander during a loan spell at Real Zaragoza, where he played 28 times and scored three goals. After making several appearances for Manchester United following that loan experience, Piqué then signed with FC Barcelona again ahead of the 2008/09 season, ready to fulfil his dream and play for the first team. After 14 and a half seasons defending the colours of his beloved team in LaLiga Santander, winning eight league championships, Gerard Piqué announced in December that he was hanging up his boots.
Dani Carvajal
The case of Dani Carvajal is very similar to that of Piqué, but this time with Real Madrid. The Spaniard progressed through the Real Madrid academy after joining as a young boy and then made the move to Germany with Bayer Leverkusen. There, he proved that he had what it takes to be a top-level right-back and he was brought back to Real Madrid ahead of the 2013/14 campaign. Since then, he has become one of the club’s most valuable assets and has won three LaLiga Santander championships during his nine seasons with Los Blancos. His aim is to keep representing his boyhood club for several years to come.
Diego Simeone
Diego Simeone has spent most of his sporting life with Atlético de Madrid. After arriving ahead of the 1994/95 campaign, the Argentine midfielder was then a key member of the historic side that won the double the following season. A spell in Italy followed before Simeone returned to Atlético de Madrid in 2003 to spend two more years wearing the red and white stripes. In 2011, he came back again, this time as a coach, to lead Los Rojiblancos to a golden age. El Cholo is a living legend at Atlético de Madrid and has lifted three Spanish championships there, two as a coach and one as a player.
Asier Illarramendi
Real Sociedad academy graduate Asier Illarramendi was able to achieve his dream of debuting in LaLiga Santander with his local side, doing so in 2010/11 against RCD Espanyol. The following year saw him play 28 matches as he confirmed his status as one of the rising stars of Basque and Spanish football. Real Madrid noticed his potential and signed him, but, following a complicated spell in the capital, the midfielder decided to return home to play for the Txuri Urdin again and to even captain the side. He is one of the faces of Real Sociedad, who he has played for more than 200 times in LaLiga Santander.
Gerard Moreno
Gerard Moreno signed with Villarreal CF’s academy when he was playing at the Juvenil level and earned his senior debut at the club when they were competing in Spain’s second division. Promotion was secured that season and his LaLiga Santander debut followed before the forward moved to RCD Espanyol and scored more and more goals. Having kept an eye on their academy product, Villarreal CF decided to sign Gerard Moreno back and he couldn’t say no to a team he loves so much. In 2020/21, he netted 23 league goals and was the top-scoring Spaniard in the entire division, while he has more than 100 LaLiga Santander goals from his spells at both clubs.
Ivan Rakitić is a LaLiga Santander legend, having won this competition four times while wearing the shirt of FC Barcelona. However, the club he most treasures is Sevilla FC, where he played his first minutes in Spanish football and where he became club captain. Following a successful stint with Barça, Rakitić decided to return to his first Spanish home to pull the strings of Sevilla FC’s midfield once again.
Fernando Torres
Atlético Madrid have more than a century of history, but have few legends quite like Fernando Torres. El Niño, or The Kid in English, came out of the academy to debut with the team at just 17 years of age, doing so when Atleti were struggling in Spain’s second division. Torres helped return them to their place in the top flight and then, after seven seasons, he departed to embark on a successful career with various foreign clubs. After winning almost every title there is to win in football, Torres returned to Atlético de Madrid in 2014/15 to reconnect with his first fanbase, the fanbase he himself was a part of. The striker enjoyed four more campaigns with the club, adding to his goals and appearances tallies to finish his career with 103 strikes across 281 matches in LaLiga Santander.
Iago Aspas
Iago Aspas is a key part of RC Celta’s history and vice versa. The forward who joined RC Celta’s academy aged nine was able to become an immediate hero when he eventually debuted for the senior side. After eight seasons with the Celeste, Aspas went off to try his luck elsewhere, but he was never as happy as when he was wearing his favourite club’s sky blue shirt. As such, he returned home in 2015 and is now the club’s top scorer with 190 total goals in 434 official matches.
Joaquín Sánchez
To speak about Joaquín is to speak about one of the icons of Spanish football and of Real Betis. The 41-year-old is the oldest player taking part in the 2022/23 LaLiga Santander season and is Real Betis’ record appearance holder. During his first spell, he exploded onto the scene after coming through the club’s academy. Following time with teams such as Valencia CF and Málaga CF, the winger returned to Real Betis in 2015 to make Spanish football fans smile once more and to win another Copa del Rey in 2022/23.
Jesús Navas
On the other side of Seville, Jesús Navas is still playing football and still playing for Sevilla FC. The winger and full-back reached the first team after progressing through Sevilla FC’s academy and played 10 seasons at the top level of Spanish football. An adventure in England followed before Navas decided to come home and he is now the captain of the current Sevilla FC side. With the Andalusian club, he has played 621 official matches and netted 38 goals.
The rise of Samuel Chukwueze continues: The Nigerian dazzles with a brace at the Santiago Bernabéu as Villarreal CF close in on fourth place
The 23-year-old is having an excellent season, having scored 13 goals and provided 11 assists across all competitions.
After finishing as a finalist for LaLiga Santander’s March Player of the Month award, Villarreal CF forward Samuel Chukwueze kept up his brilliant run of form in his first game of April, leading his side towards a 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad.
This was one of the rare Villarreal CF victories in which the Nigerian didn’t register a goal or assist, but he was still absolutely decisive by winning the penalty that allowed Dani Parejo to open the scoring. After receiving the ball in the centre of the pitch, Chukwueze first had to dodge the referee, before dribbling past two Real Sociedad defenders and then suffering a foul as he moved past the third.
Not content with that, however, Chukwueze finished his bid for April’s award with a sensational brace at the Santiago Bernabéu this weekend, which led his side to a historic 3-2 win over Real Madrid. First, he beat Nacho twice on the edge of the box before firing past Thibaut Courtois in the first half, before beating the Belgian again with a remarkable left-footed strike from the edge of the box.
Fans of Villarreal CF have been enjoying these kinds of mazy dribbles from Chukwueze all season long, as he has been completing 3.47 successful take-ons per 90 minutes of this LaLiga Santander campaign. That’s the most of all players with more than 1,000 minutes played, only behind Vini Júnior, with the Real Madrid man averaging 3.26.
Not only can he bring the ball forward and break lines, but Chukwueze is proving to be decisive in the final third too. He is enjoying his best-ever season for direct goal contributions as he has 13 goals and 11 assists so far across all competitions, with six of those goals and five of the assists coming in LaLiga Santander. Prior to 2022/23, Chukwueze’s highest tally for direct goal contributions was 13 in 2020/21, when he scored five and assisted eight.
Chukwueze is a difference-maker in Quique Setién’s attack
Interestingly, Chukwueze has reached the next level under the new Villarreal CF coach Quique Setién. Eleven of his goals and seven of his assists have come in the 24 games under the current boss, compared to two goals and four assists in the 16 appearances he made this season under Unai Emery.
Setién’s Villarreal CF like to dominate possession and control the ball, but they need line-breakers like Chukwueze to make this count on the scoreboard. It is a perfect combination and every Villarreal CF player knows to look for the Nigerian whenever there’s a need to accelerate the play.
The coach doesn’t want to take the credit for the explosion in Chukwueze’s stats, though. After the Real Sociedad win, Setién stated: “He was already a great player before I arrived. It’s true that sometimes a certain context or run in the side will help, but I already saw him do extraordinary things before I arrived. He has maintained a great level of performance and I hope he keeps it up because, on days like today, he’s decisive.”
A mix of energy, promise and experience
Chukwueze is showing no signs of slowing down and, as his 24th birthday approaches in May, he is at the perfect age where he boasts a combination of youthful energy, exciting promise and also maturity from his several years of experience.
Despite still being so young, the forward has already played 197 matches at the senior level, all of them for Villarreal CF. That includes 145 appearances in LaLiga Santander, with his first coming back in 2018, a year after he moved to Spain from the Diamond Football Academy.
The Xavi vs Simeone rivalry has moved to the dugouts
There have been 10 meetings between FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid in which the Catalan played and the Argentine coached, plus their first head-to-head tactical battle which ended in a 4-2 victory for Barça in February 2022.
This Sunday’s Atlético de Madrid vs FC Barcelona match is one of the most highly anticipated fixtures of the LaLiga Santander season, given that both these teams are battling near the top of the table and given that both these sides have produced some memorable showdowns over the years.
Fans have been waiting for this game for a while, since their most recent meeting was 11 months ago, back in February 2022, when Barça came from behind to win 4-2 against Atleti at the Spotify Camp Nou. That LaLiga Santander match featured fascinating storylines such as Luis Suárez scoring against his former club or Dani Alves producing a wonder strike and also receiving a red card.
Even if those two players have moved on from the clubs they represented last season, there are still many stars names who’ll be on show, including in the dugouts where Diego Simeone and Xavi Hernández will do battle again.
Two very different footballing philosophies
This will be an interesting match from a tactical point of view, as these are two coaches with very different footballing philosophies, with Xavi wanting his sides to keep the ball and to play attacking football, whereas Simeone is willing to forego possession if he thinks it gives his team a better chance of winning.
In 2016, while playing in Qatar, Xavi was critical of the style of football employed by Simeone’s Atleti sides. “I don’t like to watch teams that sit back,” he said in an interview with the ‘Universo Valdano’ show. “That’s not the style a big club should have.”
Responding to that in a press conference, Simeone explained: “I respect all opinions, as we can all be right in the world of football. I just look to make the most of the players I have available. I just want to win, not to please others.”
Although Xavi and Simeone have always been respectful when discussing one another, it’s clear that they have different ideas about the beautiful game and how to approach the 90 minutes of a football match.
Simeone’s 10 duels against Xavi the player and one clash as coaches
Although Simeone is far more experienced than Xavi as a coach, the Argentine is only 10 years older than the Barça boss. They coincided in LaLiga Santander during their playing days, during Simeone’s second spell at Atlético Madrid between 2003 and 2005.
Even though the Blaugrana and Rojiblancos met three times between Simeone returning to Spain from Italy and moving on again to Argentina, he and Xavi never actually shared the pitch. In those three matches against FC Barcelona, Simeone never came off the bench for Atleti in any of them, meaning the two midfielders never actually went up against each other as players.
They have, though, had 10 duels in which Xavi was playing for FC Barcelona and Simeone was coaching Atlético de Madrid. Xavi and Barça won four of those 10, in addition to five draws and one defeat when the capital city side progressed in the 2013/14 Champions League quarter-finals.
Overall, Simeone’s record coaching against FC Barcelona is five wins, 11 draws and 16 losses from 32 meetings. The Argentine lost his first head-to-head duel with Xavi the coach, as a new rivalry of the LaLiga Santander dugouts commenced, but now Xavi will experience the ferocious atmosphere of the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano for the very first time as either a player or as a coach, and Simeone will seek revenge for February’s 4-2 scoreline.
