Raphinha hails Barcelona’s fighting spirit against Atlético de Madrid | OneFootball

Barcelona consolidated its leadership in the Spanish Championship by defeating Atlético de Madrid by 3 to 1 at Camp Nou this Tuesday (2), in a match valid for the 19th round, thus interrupting the seven consecutive victories of the rojiblancos.

“It's important to believe in our work. We know there are games like this, and we have to be prepared for them. This is the spirit we need to have,” said Raphinha to Movistar+ after the match.

The Brazilian emphasized that the pressure on the opposing team was crucial: “The more we press in the attacking field, the closer we get to the goal. This way, we can create more chances if we recover the ball.”

Álex Baena opened the scoring for Atleti at 19 minutes after dribbling Joan García with a play that broke the offside line. The Brazilian forward Raphinha equalized for Barça at 26, in a similar play, assisted by Pedri González. He finished with no chance for the goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

The Polish forward Robert Lewandowski had the chance to make it 2 to 1, but missed a penalty (36′).

Despite this, the Catalan team's comeback came in the second half. Midfielder Dani Olmo scored his (65′) and Ferran Torres sealed the score in injury time (90’+6).

For this match, brought forward due to the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia (from January 7 to 11), Barça lined up its attacking trio of Raphinha, Lewandowski, and Lamine Yamal.

With this triumph, the culé team now has 37 points, four more than its closest pursuer, Real Madrid, which will face Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés this Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Atlético de Madrid remains in fourth place, with 31 points.

“We'll see (if it's a turning point), but this was one of our best matches. I really liked what I saw during the 90 minutes,” emphasized Barcelona's coach, Hansi Flick, in a press conference. “This was the next step. We are returning to our best level,” continued the German coach.

Meanwhile, Atlético de Madrid's Argentine coach, Diego Simeone, highlighted that his team “competed against a team that plays very well” and that Barça deserved the victory. “We played a match that deserved a better result,” assessed ‘El Cholo’.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.