Atletico Madrid midfielder suspended for Barcelona clash as appeal rejected

In a major blow for Atletico Madrid, key midfielder Marcos Llorente will miss the upcoming La Liga encounter against Barcelona due to suspension, reports MARCA.

The 28-year-old versatile midfielder is a regular fixture in the starting XI for Diego Simeone’s side when fit and available. He has played 28 times across all competitions this term, chipping in with three goals and assists each.

Llorente picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in La Liga in Atletico Madrid’s previous match against Almeria. It meant an automatic one-match ban for the Spanish internationa, which would rule him out against Barcelona.

Atletico Madrid, though, lodged an appeal to try and overturn the yellow card he received in the game against Almeria.

As per MARCA, the Rojiblancos claimed that there had been a ‘manifest error’ in the referee’s official match report which cited that Llorente was cautioned for ‘stopping a promising attack’.

However, the Appeals Committee ruled that there was not enough evidence to support these claims and that there was no error spotted. Hence, the appeal from Simeone’s side was rejected, resulting in Llorente being suspended for the trip to Catalonia this weekend.

While Llorente is certain to miss the game, Atletico Madrid are also sweating over the fitness of former Barcelona forward Memphis Depay, who is yet to rejoin team training and is still doing individual work as he continues to recover from an injury.

Los Rojiblancos are the most in-form team in La Liga heading into this weekend’s clash. Indeed, since losing 1-0 to Barcelona in January earlier this year, Simeone’s men have not faced a single defeat in La Liga, stringing together a 13-game unbeaten run, winning each of their last six.

It remains to be seen how Simeone manages to deal with the absence of a key member like Llorente against Barcelona.