FC Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid 3-1 in the 19th round of LaLiga, a match that was played before the original schedule due to the two clubs’ participation in the Spanish Super Cup. Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres scored for the Catalan team, after Alex Baena opened the scoring in the first half. Hansi Flick’s team also missed a penalty through Robert Lewandowski, and Thiago Almada wasted a huge chance towards the end of the match for the visitors. The “blaugrana” group obtained all the points and remain leaders in the domestic championship, while the “rojiblancos” team ended their run of seven consecutive victories in all competitions.
FC Barcelona hosted Atletico Madrid in LaLiga at the “Spotify Camp Nou” in Catalonia, where the “blaugrana” were undefeated until the time of this match. In the first leg, in the company of Athletic Bilbao, Hansi Flick’s team won by four goals, before the match against Deportivo Alaves ended with a final score of 3-1, after the hosts came back throughout the 90 minutes. On the other hand, the “rojiblancos” team were coming into this match after seven consecutive victories on all “fronts”, going through an exceptional period in terms of the quality of their play.
Most recently, Diego Simeone’s side managed to beat Real Oviedo 2-0 in their home match at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, thanks to a brace from Alexander Sorloth. In the UEFA Champions League, the two teams were in completely different situations, as FC Barcelona lost to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on away goals, while the Spanish capital club triumphed at home against Inter Milan, with the decisive goal scored in stoppage time by Jose Maria Gimenez.
Ronald Araujo, due to mental health issues, Frenkie de Jong, due to flu, and Fermin Lopez, Gavi and Marc Andre ter-Stegen, due to injuries, could not be included in the limited squad of the “blaugrana” for this LaLiga derby, while Robin Le Normand and Marcos Llorente were absent from the “los colchoneros” camp. Before the starting whistle of the match, the leader in the general standings was FC Barcelona with a total of 34 points accumulated after the first 14 rounds played, and Atletico Madrid was in fourth place, three lengths behind the team led from the sidelines by Hansi Flick.
The first big chance to open the scoring belonged to the visitors, and Alex Baena, from a pass sent down the lane by Nahuel Molina, capitalized on this counterattack, easily beating Eric Garcia and finishing with great elegance past the left arm of Joan Garcia. After a long check of the correctness of the phase that opened the scoring on “Spotify Camp Nou”, the central referee pointed to the middle of the field and awarded a goal for the visitors. The equalizer arrived a few minutes later, when Pedri, back in the first eleven of FC Barcelona, found Raphinha ideally between the lines of Atletico Madrid, and, after dribbling Jan Oblak, the Brazilian player scored with an empty net.
In the 31st minute of the match, the same Alex Baena escaped alone with the opposing goal, but Joan Garcia’s inspired exit between the posts prevented the Spanish footballer from dribbling the goalkeeper and scoring from a few meters. Although the “rojiblancos” players requested a potential handball when the goalkeeper transferred from Espanyol intervened, replays showed that nothing illegal had happened, so the game was allowed to continue.
Later, after a series of successful dribbles past the opponents, Dani Olmo entered the Atletico Madrid penalty area, and Pablo Barrios intervened carelessly in his attempt to recover the ball. De Burgos Bengoetxea pointed, without hesitation, towards the penalty spot, and the Catalans benefited from a penalty kick from 11 meters. Robert Lewandowski took responsibility for converting this penalty, but the Polish striker’s shot landed in the net behind Jan Oblak’s goal, so the “blaugrana” team wasted the chance to take the lead overall.
A few moments later, the former Bayern Munich striker almost got his revenge on the fans of Hansi Flick’s club, when he rose to the highest point to head home a cross from Lamine Yamal from the right flank. However, Jan Oblak dived to his left and blocked the shot, keeping his team in the game. Seven minutes into the Spanish league match, Lamine Yamal’s run left five or six of the visitors’ players behind, but Raphinha’s shot from the edge of the box went wide of the goal.
Dani Olmo then made a superb pass for the same South American player, and his low cross was just a step away from being met by Robert Lewandowski, but although he stretched, the Polish player could not hit the ball. However, FC Barcelona would complete the “comeback” in the 65th minute of the match, when Pedri passed the “new” player of the hosts in the central area, he entered into combination with Dani Olmo, and the Catalans’ attacking central midfielder scored with a shot sent to the far corner, without Jan Oblak being able to intervene.
Due to the fall suffered, the Spanish player of the hosts could not continue the match, and Marcus Rashford took his place on the pitch. Lamine Yamal also had the chance to score a few minutes later, after gaining possession of the ball following a mistake by Jose Maria Gimenez in the build-up, but the Catalans’ right-winger shot just wide of the far post. In extra time, the Englishman escaped on a counterattack and, after a subtle dribble, tried to score with a shot sent to the near post, where Jan Oblak kicked out.
The decisive shot would come from Ferran Torres, the Spanish striker who entered the match and received a ball in free space from Alejandro Balde, who, after a quality pass, finished with a shot to the far corner, giving the Slovenian goalkeeper no hope. FC Barcelona won and obtained three points, accumulating 37 and being the leader in LaLiga, four lengths ahead of the great rival, Real Madrid, but with one more match, respectively, five, six, ahead of Villareal and Atletico Madrid, the latter of which occupies the fourth place in the general hierarchy. In the next round, the Catalans will travel to Seville to play against Real Betis, and the “rojiblancos” will play against Athletic Bilbao, at “San Mames”.