These are not easy days for Pablo Barrios, as his mistake last Saturday against Celta de Vigo could have cost Atlético de Madrid the victory. It is not precisely a new mistake, as the youth player had also seen the red card for a rough tackle in the match against Bayer Leverkusen. However, beyond the result, the Spanish international's penance has continued in recent hours following countless criticisms from fans.
From the very moment of the expulsion, many voices directly attacked the player for his action in the early minutes of the match. Simeone himself did not want to analyze the play in the subsequent press conference, although he admitted it was a red card play, showing great sincerity. According to what we have learned at Esto es Atleti, the footballer is very affected by the expulsion and the insults he has received.
Pablo Barrios Returns to the Spotlight
It should be noted that one of the keys to Atlético de Madrid's good momentum in recent months has been the Spanish player's starting role. He has been able to push Koke to the bench, being the usual partner of Rodrigo de Paul in the double pivot and one of the best news of the season. However, considering his youth, he still has many things to correct, one of them being his excess energy on the field.
It seemed that the expulsion against Bayer Leverkusen could serve as a lesson in better measuring actions, but it has not been the case. The red-and-white team had the perfect opportunity to surpass Real Madrid in the standings if they had managed to defeat Celta de Vigo at the Metropolitano. Pablo Barrios was expelled in the early minutes after a rough tackle and that forced his teammates to change the game plan.
Insults on Social Media
Obviously, the criticisms of the youth player were assured, as it was the second time in a month that he made the same mistake by not measuring a tackle. However, many fans have crossed a red line and have started hurling insults at him through their social media profiles. The avalanche has been so great that the player has had to disable comments on his own Instagram due to all these insults that were coming in.
Pablo Barrios is aware of his mistake and has spent a few very affected hours, knowing that he had harmed his team at an important moment. Even so, Simeone already explained that everything they would analyze would be inside the locker room and did not give any assessment of what happened last Saturday. The only sure thing is that he will not be able to count on his player to visit a challenging field like Mestalla against a Valencia that is growing.