'I don't know how he didn't win the Ballon d'Or!' - Diego Simeone heaps praise on Raphinha after seeing 'incredible' Barcelona star torment Atletico Madrid defence

Atletico began the contest with confidence and clarity. Within 20 minutes, they were in front thanks to Alex Baena, who timed his run to perfection, beating Barcelona’s defensive line before sending a low shot beyond Joan Garcia. But the goal did not break Barcelona’s resolve. Hansi Flick’s team settled, began to dominate possession and soon found the spaces that Atletico had initially denied them. Six minutes after falling behind, it was Raphinha who dragged Barcelona level with a goal. He collected a perfectly weighted through ball from Pedri, rounded Jan Oblak with the poise of a centre-forward and stroked the ball home to cancel out Baena's opener.

Barcelona could have gone into the break ahead after Dani Olmo won a penalty following a clumsy challenge in the box. But the opportunity went begging as Robert Lewandowski, usually so assured from the spot, blazed his attempt over the crossbar. In the second half, Barcelona’s patience paid off. Olmo curled a sublime effort into the bottom corner to hand them the lead, but as he struck the ball, he lost his balance and crashed onto his shoulder and was forced off. With Atletico pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Barcelona struck again. Deep into added time, Alejandro Balde surged down the left and fired a low cross into the area, and Ferran Torres met it with a sharp finish from close range to seal the victory.

Despite the disappointment of the result, Simeone was in no mood to hide his admiration for one of the players who undid his team. In his post-match comments, the Atletico manager offered a glowing assessment of Raphinha’s performance. 

"Raphinha is an incredible player," he said. "He can play everywhere. As a winger, as a midfielder, as a striker, or even as a wing back. He can score, can create, he presses and runs. I don’t know how he didn’t win the Ballon d’Or. For me, I would choose him always."

Raphinha finished fifth in this year’s Ballon d’Or rankings, despite registering over 60 goal contributions and helping Barcelona lift three trophies. The prize went to PSG’s Ousmane Dembele, who won a treble with the French outfit, with 17-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal taking second place. Vitinha was third, and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah came in fourth.

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Simeone gave a detailed breakdown of the match, praising his team’s determination despite the defeat.

He said: "We started well, but they managed to hurt us inside, with the ball filtered inside. In the second half, it was the opposite: they started a little better, but after 20 minutes, we were the ones who looked for the game. We couldn’t complete it, but I liked the team. We know that they have very good feet and that they play with a lot of people inside so that disorder appears in the rival centre-backs, and today it worked very well for them. But I feel very calm and happy with what the team did. This will help us to improve. Now, a tough match also in Bilbao."

Simeone also acknowledged that an injury to Johnny Cardoso forced an early tactical reshuffle. The USMNT midfielder lasted just 14 minutes before being forced off following a clash with Olmo.

He told reporters: "Cardoso’s injury forced us to adjust. We had high hopes for Johnny, but he got injured and had to leave the game."

The defeat brought an end to Atletico’s seven-match winning streak across all competitions, pausing the momentum they had built over recent weeks. Their focus now shifts to a demanding run of fixtures to close out 2025, starting with a trip to Athletic Club on Saturday, followed by league meetings with Valencia and Girona, then a crucial Champions League encounter with PSV. Barcelona, meanwhile, continue their climb, buoyed by confidence and a growing belief that they can sustain their latest title push under Flick. The win marked the Catalan side's fifth consecutive league win and carried them four points ahead of Real Madrid, who play on Wednesday.