Barcelona 2-0 Atletico Madrid
Two late goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi beat Atletico Madrid tonight, and that must surely mean the La Liga title is heading back to Catalonia.
Over 92,000 fans packed into the Camp Nou to see Barca’s huge win, but they had to wait for 85 minutes to see their players break down a resolute Atleti defence and a brave goalkeeper.
This was a must win game for Atletico but they lost their heads in a dramatic first half and went down to ten men, before picking themselves up and almost holding out. The Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid highlights are well worth catching up on. It was a game which had everything and one which took Barca 11 points clear at the top of the table.
Highlights of the game
Leo Messi was rested for the midweek game against Villarreal but had to climb off the bench to rescue a point. So it was a sure fire bet that he’d be starting tonight; and he got to work straight away, splitting the Atleti defence to find Jordi Alba, who lifted the ball over Jan Oblak but it bounced back off the post and into the keeper’s welcoming hands.
Simeone’s team knew they had to attack and Antoine Griezmann worked his way into the Barca area but shot straight at Ter Stegen. But then the pressure seemed to get to the visitors and a moment of madness made Los Rojiblancos’ difficult task infinitely harder when Diego Costa got himself sent off. The Enfant Terrible was lucky to escape a card early in the game when he caught Clement Lenglet with a stray elbow, but he received a straight red for something he said to the ref.
As chaos ensued Jose Maria Gimenez was booked for more moaning in the ref’s ear and a minute later his defensive partner and captain Diego Godin joined him in the book.
Atleti got themselves together to go in level at half time, Godin making a brilliant interception to deny Messi, but their fans must have feared the worst for the second half.
Messi continued to pull the strings, laying the ball off for Sergio Busquets but he blazed his shot over the bar. And then Messi brought a save from Oblak after leaving Koke in his wake. Minutes later he drove into the Atletico half before passing to Suarez who just had Oblak to beat, but the big Slovenian keeper made a superb save.
Messi was in scintillating form, skipping past defenders at ease, and these were top defenders, it seemed a matter of time before the Catalans broke through. Atleti was still in the game though, and when Griezmann had a chance from a free-kick he forced Ter Stegen into a save.
Oblak made an outstanding double stop to deny Messi and then Malcom with his follow up. Then at the other end Atleti had a glorious chance to score when Rodri met a Griezmann cross, but missed with his header when he should have scored.
And then finally, the goal came on 85 minutes, and it was a beautiful finish from Luis Suarez, bending the ball into the corner to send the Camp Nou fans wild.
After waiting so long for one goal, the Barca fans had only two minutes to wait for a second and it was that man Messi who got his 33rd league goal of the season. Ivan Rakitic released the genius and he beat Oblak with a clever finish. Cue Bedlam.
I’d day that’s la Liga won.
Key statistics
Our pre-match Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid betting tips took a close look at the last six games which were all close affairs. And so was this, but in the end Barca’s numerical advantage, and Messi, made the difference.
The Catalans haven’t lost to Los Rojiblancos at the Camp Nou in 19 games now; they are unbeaten in 16 and have lost just three times in 76 league games.
Diego Costa was the ninth Atletico Madrid player to pick up a red card against Barcelona since Diego Simeone became manager. Do you get the impression he doesn’t like the Catalans?!
What’s next?
Next for Barcelona it’s the Champions League and a trip to Old Trafford for Ernesto Valverde’s team. Manchester United dumped PSG out of the competition and their head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was at the Camp Nou to run the rule over his opponents.
Keep your eyes open for our SBOBET tips on that game. On this showing I’d be leaning towards Barca, but OGS will have his team ready to cause another upset.
Los Rojiblancos are out of Europe’s premier competition and they must content themselves with a home league game against Celta Vigo. Their visitors are deep in relegation trouble and will be fighting for their lives.
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