Luis Suarez added to Barcelona's anguish by scoring against his former club on Saturday, but Atletico Madrid's 2-0 victory did nothing to relieve Ronald Koeman's building pressure.
Barca president Joan Laporta had just indicated that Koeman would stay on as coach "independent of the result" at the Wanda Metropolitano, but another lackluster performance will put that commitment to the test over the two-week international break. Suarez clasped his hands together and raised his eyes to the sky in a subdued celebration, apparently out of respect for his previous club, where he spent six years and scored 198 goals.
But the Uruguayan then made a phone gesture at Koeman, possibly alluding to the sudden manner in which Barca's coach told him he was no longer needed at Camp Nou just over a year ago. Atletico Madrid had already taken the lead through Thomas Lemar, and with two goals down before half-time, Barcelona appeared vulnerable to another thrashing after losing 3-0 to Bayern Munich and Benfica in the Champions League.
However, this is a club that appears to be losing its spark and confidence, with numerous very skilled players consistently falling short of their potential. Barcelona is in ninth place, while Atletico Madrid is level on points with Real Madrid at the top of the table after their triumph.
They also needed this win following a dismal start to the season in which they had only won two of their previous five games. Suarez may have grabbed the headlines, but it was his teammate Joao Felix who was the real star of the show in the first half, the teenager causing havoc and putting in one of his best performances in a long time.
Philippe Coutinho came close with a shot for Barcelona, and Frenkie de Jong came up just short after reaching for Memphis Depay's cross. On the break, however, Atletico were ripping Barca apart, and Suarez made it two minutes before halftime. Depay fumbled the ball up front, and Suarez was in four passes later, Yannick Carrasco touching the ball to Lemar, who bounced it off Felix and blasted it right.
Suarez chose his place while Gerard Pique was back-pedaling onto the line. Coutinho had an opportunity to bring one back for Barca just before the hour mark, but Jan Oblak stopped the finish, and Coutinho was replaced by Ansu Fati. Antoine Griezmann also came on for Atletico, making his first appearance since joining the club on loan from Barcelona on the final day of the transfer window. On the break, he had a fantastic chance but misjudged his pass, with a switch to Angel Correa sent straight out of play.
A few whistles for Griezmann were drowned out by cheers from the crowd. The roars at the last whistle were deafening.
