Barcelona beat Atlético Madrid, strengthen grip on La Liga top spot | OneFootball

In the first minute of play, high pressing forced an error in Aleti’s buildup and the Culé side was close to opening the score. At 8 minutes, Flick’s men put together a good collective move that ended with a shot from Raphinha over Oblak’s goal.

The match had its first major emotional moment before a footballing one: at the ten-minute mark, Camp Nou once again loudly chanted Lionel Messi’s name. “Messi, Messi, Messi” echoed from the stands in an ovation reminiscent of the previous match.

The rhythm of the game was interrupted by Johnny Cardoso’s injury, who had to leave the pitch and was replaced by Koke in the 14th minute. Barcelona kept pressing and Lamine Yamal tried his luck from outside the box in the 15th, though the shot went wide.

The first controversy of the night came at the 19th minute. Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea called offside after a deep pass from Nahuel Molina to Álex Baena. However, after VAR review, the referee overturned the decision and validated Atlético’s 1-0 lead.

Don’t miss the matches from one of the most exciting leagues in the Old Continent. Disney+ Premium Plan.

The visitors’ lead didn’t last long. Just a few minutes later, the Brazilian Raphinha appeared to equalize the match. The winger received a through ball from Pedri, controlled it inside the box, dribbled past the goalkeeper, and scored to make it 1-1, quickly restoring parity to the scoreboard.

After the Brazilian’s goal, Barcelona definitively took control of the match and began to dominate Diego Simeone’s team, especially by exploiting the wings. The pressure and territorial dominance translated into clear chances. Lewandowski had two opportunities. First, he was involved in a penalty committed on Dani Olmo, which he took himself, but ended up missing. Then, the Polish striker had another clear chance in the 38th minute, with a header that forced Oblak into a great save to prevent the 2-1.

In the final stretch of the first half, Giuliano Simeone suffered a hard foul on the right wing and the match was stopped while he received treatment. From the resulting free kick, Atlético de Madrid came close to regaining the lead, but Barcelona’s defense managed to clear the danger and keep it 1-1 until halftime.

The second half began with the same intensity as the first. Atlético threatened quickly with a shot from Julián Álvarez that Ter Stegen handled comfortably. The match became scrappy, with several fouls in a few minutes and constant interruptions. In a double substitution, Simeone sent on Thiago Almada and Alexander Sørloth, the latter replacing Giuliano Simeone, to try to change the rhythm of the game while the score remained 1-1.

But Barcelona managed to strike. After an extraordinary one-two between Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski, the Spaniard found himself in front of goal and finished with class to make it 2-1 in the 65th minute. However, the joy was not complete: in the same play as the goal, Olmo suffered a shoulder issue that left him lying on the pitch.

In a match that became frenetic, Barcelona lost Dani Olmo and also Pedri, while Atlético made changes from the bench, bringing on Griezmann to try to regain control. The clearest chance of this period, however, was for the visitors: Thiago Almada had the goal at his feet that could have sealed the draw. The Argentine produced a brilliant move inside the box, dribbling past three defenders with a classy maneuver, but when he was one-on-one and went to finish, he couldn’t direct his shot on target.

When Aleti seemed to be getting closer and closer to an equalizer, piling up crosses and shots in the final minutes, the Culé side landed the decisive blow. After withstanding a couple of dangerous attacks, the home team broke quickly and sealed the match in added time. Ferran Torres, in the 96th minute, tapped in a precise cross from Alejandro Balde to make it 3-1.

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