An insubstantial Andre Gomes performance on his first start of the season

If we measure and judge a player by their influence in their team's play, we have to admit that Andre Gomes left a lot to be desired at the Wanda Metropolitano. When you have a place in the Barcelona shirt you cannot be timid or contemplative. Especially against Atletico Madrid, whose strengths lie in their aggression, anticipation and pressing. And the Portuguese midfielder lacked a little of all of that. 

Ernesto Valverde backed him from the start, with Gomes' inclusion in the lineup the big surprise considering his lack of involvement so far this season. It caught the attention, therefore, that he was starting such a touch, demanding game. 

Gomes played on the right in the first half, in a position which Luis Enrique had used him in. He shared the flank with his compatriot Nelson Semedo. At the start he was more concerned with Filipe Luis' attacking than anything else. We didn't see him look to drive down his wing, take on a man or anything like that. There was minimum risk. 

On a couple of occasions he did try to break through the lines, but was unable to. However, it has to be said that for Valverde he fulfilled his role to perfection because he was left on the pitch for 90 minutes while Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic were taken off, which is difficult to understand. 

With Valverde's first changes, Gomes left the right flank and moved to the left. It was in this period that he looked more comfortable as the game opened up. With more space and less marking, both Andre Gomes and the rest of his team-mates were able to up their level, dominating Atletico at the end of a game which had been even up until that point.