The Barça defense on high alert: Can Sorloth unleash chaos again?

FC Barcelona visits Atlético de Madrid this Sunday at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano (21:00 CEST), a rival that Hansi Flick's team has not managed to defeat this season in their two previous encounters. One of the key players behind the good results achieved by the 'rojiblanco' team against the Catalans has undoubtedly been Alexander Sorloth.

This season, the Norwegian has scored 14 goals and provided 2 assists in 38 appearances (1,535 minutes) with Diego Simeone's side. The former Villarreal and Real Sociedad forward has been a substitute for most of the season, but he has made the most of his opportunities. Not for nothing, he is the most lethal player coming off the bench in the five major leagues in Europe, with 11 goals.

However, Barça has become Sorloth's favorite victim, a Sorloth who has already scored against the Catalans this season in both La Liga and the Cup, in both cases during added time in Montjuïc. With this, the Atlético '9' maintains an impressive streak of five consecutive matches scoring against the azulgrana team, with only one Catalan victory (3-4 against Villarreal in the 23/24 season).

The Barça defense on high alert for Sorloth

In this regard, the Barcelona defense is already aware of the danger posed by the Scandinavian, especially in the final minutes, when physical fatigue weighs on a backline that tends to play very high throughout the match. In the first leg of the Cup semifinals, Eric García came on for Pedri in the 85th minute to provide support at the back, but the adjustment in midfield was not enough to prevent the 'colchonera' reaction.

Hansi Flick had made the same change (for Marc Casadó in the 80th minute) in the match of matchday 18 (1-2), so it is likely that, ahead of the visit to the Metropolitano, the coach may prefer to tweak the defense if he notices significant fatigue in the final minutes. Atlético's counterattacks allowed Alexander Sorloth to score in the 90+6' and 90+3', giving his team an undeserved victory (La Liga) and a draw (Cup) after being clearly dominated by Barça.

⚽Sorloth's goals in his last five matches against Barça