Barcelona dragged themselves from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday night, opening up a four-point gap at the top of La Liga and landing a proper statement win against a title rival.
Alex Baena nicked Atletico ahead early on, finishing a classic ball in behind Barca’s daftly high defensive line. He barely celebrated because everyone assumed the flag was going up but VAR overturned it and suddenly Camp Nou was grumbling again. Barca, who has looked sketchy since getting whacked in the Clasico, didn’t sulk for long. Pedri slid Raphinha through on 26 minutes and the Brazilian rounded Jan Oblak with ease to level.
Robert Lewandowski then leathered a penalty miles over when he should’ve put Barca ahead. The Pole, who has been a bit all over the place lately, almost made up for it with a header that Oblak clawed away in absurd fashion. Atletico, unbeaten in 13 league matches coming in, kept threatening the counter but offered very little patience in midfield, letting Barca poke and prod their way forward.
Dani Olmo, who’s now suddenly scoring for fun, made it 2-1 just after the hour mark, bundling through bodies before steering in a tidy finish. He injured himself falling over during the strike and went off straight away, which is peak Barcelona this season score, celebrate, then limp off like you’ve been cursed.
Pedri also hobbled out later, fans panicking with a Champions League tie looming next week. Hansi Flick has been coping without Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong and a couple more, so losing two more starters felt like a punch in the throat.
Atletico could still have pinched something. Thiago Almada sliced wide after a brilliant run, then Antoine Griezmann scuffed another effort. It wasn’t their night. Oblak denied Marcus Rashford late on, but Ferran Torres tucked in a third on the break to settle it and crush any leftover drama.
It’s five league wins on the bounce for Barca since losing to Madrid, even if the football hasn’t exactly sparkled. Against a direct title rival, this one felt a bit more serious. Real Madrid go to Bilbao on Wednesday with a chance to reel the leaders back in, while Diego Simeone’s lot stay fourth and six points off the top, their unbeaten run snapped in fairly brutal fashion.
“This is the spirit we need to turn around games like this,” Raphinha said afterwards, sounding delighted and half knackered. Barca aren’t perfect far from it but they’re still top, they’re still winning, and tonight actually looked like a team with a bit of bite
