- A 96th-minute stunner from Alexander Sørloth sealed Barcelona’s fate in a match they largely controlled.
- Atletico Madrid leapfrogged the Blaugrana atop the La Liga table ahead of the Christmas break.
The Catalans fell at home to Atlético (1-2) in the clash of Matchday 18 in La Liga. The Colchoneros will spend the festive season at the top of the table.
Trailing and under pressure, Atlético Madrid overturned FC Barcelona in the dying moments (1-2) on Saturday during the Matchday 18 showdown at the Olympic Stadium of Montjuic, taking sole control of the Spanish championship. Diego Simeone’s men are now the sole leaders with 41 points and continue their exceptional run of seven consecutive league victories (12 across all competitions). They also secured their first win at Barcelona’s ground since 2006.
Barcelona faced another home defeat, marking their second successive loss following the 0-1 setback against promoted Leganés last weekend, worsening their league struggles (one win from the last seven matches). With 38 points, they are now under threat from Real Madrid in third place (37 points) who have two games in hand and can claim the top spot with a victory over FC Sevilla on Sunday (4:15 PM).
Dominating in the first half, Hansi Flick’s men – suspended and watching from the stands – created multiple chances despite the absence of Lamine Yamal, who is sidelined for three to four weeks due to an ankle injury.
They opened the scoring with a sublime action involving Pedri, who had been silent for 12 matches, playing a pivotal role at both the start and finish of the move. After regaining possession 30 meters out, the 22-year-old Spaniard outwitted Jan Oblak at the far post (1-0, 30th minute) following a perhaps unintentional one-two with Gavi. Toward the end of the match, the Slovenian goalkeeper made several crucial saves in a matter of minutes, notably denying Raphinha and Pedri (86th, 87th).
After failing to register a shot in the first half, Atlético finally dampened the spirits of the Barcelonans with their second attempt, at the hour mark. From outside the box, Rodrigo De Paul curled his shot to equalize the teams (1-1, 60th minute). Just seconds before the end of the six minutes of stoppage time, as the match seemed destined for a stalemate at the top of the table, Alexander Sorloth dashed Barcelona’s hopes by perfectly converting a cross from Molina, deflected by several Catalan legs (90+6).
Prior to the equalizing goal, the Barcelonans had several opportunities, including a lob from Raphinha that hit the crossbar (57th) and a miss from Lewandowski in front of goal (76th).
