Barcelona U-18 Wins 2-0 Against Atletico Madrid

Barcelona U-18 managed to beat Atletico Madrid U-18 with a score of 2-0 at the International Youth Championship (IYC) 2021 held at Jakarta International Stadium (JIS), Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, Friday (4/15) night.

The game was quite tough because we faced a good team and their characters were different from ours

During the match which started at 21:30, Atletico Madrid players immediately attacked from the beginning of the first half to make Barcelona in a defensive position while occasionally counterattacking.

The aggressive game shown by Atletico Madrid was counterattacked by Barcelona in the 15th minute, making the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Luciano Riveros Garcia committed a hard foul on Barcelona's Marc Gulupaz.

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Therefore, the referee gave a red card thus Coach Daniel Perez's team had to play only 10 players.

The situation turned around, Barcelona was trying to attack Atletico Madrid. Then in the 27th minute, Jan Molina Vilaseca scored a goal. Then in the 41st minute, the second goal was scored again by Jan Molina Vilaseca.

Entering the second half, each team was launching a counterattack. In the 52nd minute, Atletico Madrid had a chance to launch an attack after a Barcelona player committed a hard foul on an Atletico Madrid player in the penalty box.

Unfortunately, the execution of the penalty kick by Adrian Gallego Diaz could be saved by goalkeeper Aron Yaakobishvili. Until the second half ended, there was no single goal scored by both teams that made Barcelona win against Atletico Madrid with a score of 2-0.

Barcelona U-18 Coach Iban Javier Cuadrado Alonso mentioned that his team tried to play by finding free space on the pitch during the match.

"The game was quite tough because we faced a good team and their characters were different from ours," he stated.

On Sunday (4/17), his team would compete against Bali United U-18. In this match, his team would not change its strategy and control the ball throughout the match.

"Control the ball is our team's advantage," he stated.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid U-18 Coach Daniel Perez admitted the match with Barcelona was quite fierce. His team had tried to penetrate since the beginning of the match.

"It is quite difficult for our athletes because of the new stadium. But it is a good opportunity to play and gain experiences at this place," he said.

Currently, his team was preparing for the next match against Indonesia All Star U-20 on Sunday (4/17). His team was considered a strong team that should not be underestimated on the field.

"Indonesia All Star is a pretty strong team, so we will do our best," he stated.