Fireworks lit at the Camp Nou as La Liga returns back to action with an epic clash against FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid with the Catalan Giants coming on the top. The match was a battle among two teams fighting for the top four spots.
The match was a six-goal thriller between two excellent sides struggling this season. The league holders, Atletico Madrid were outshined by Barca’s young talent. The game took a nasty turn with both sides committing a total of 28 fouls.
Barcelona’s brand new signings Ferran Torres and Adama Traore shine as Traore gets his first assist. Arsenal reject, Aubameyang also got a few minutes as he managed to hold on to the ball for Barcelona’s good.
Atletico’s new signing, Daniel Wass struggled as Simeone played him out of position. The midfielder was asked to play as a “Right Wing Back” which caused a lot of struggle.
First Half, Barca’s utter Domination
The game started in loud Camp Nou stadium with Barca showing early signs of attack. This was however turned back to misery as Atletico Madrid opened the scoring at the 8th-minute mark. He turned in a sweet ball home as Ter Stegen failed to stop another goal.
After conceding an early goal, Barca was expected to struggle but to everyone’s surprise, an unlikely hero showed up. Alba stuck in a beautiful volley which was almost near perfection, making the score 1-1 at the 10th-minute mark.
With this goal, began the “Barca Domination”. Within a span of 30 minutes, Barca managed to score 2 more goals. Youngster Gavi headed in a delicious ball by Adama Traore at the 21st-minute mark and Araujo launched in a vicious shot at the 43rd-minute mark as Atletico failed to clear the ball.
Half-time score, 3 goals to 1. Barcelona was in full control.
Second Half, the nightmare begins
Barca started the second half with a bang as Gavi’s lobbed-in ball was headed home by 38-year-old, Dani Alves. Alves’s vicious strike made the score 4-1. Things turned south for Barcelona after this.
At the 58th minute mark, Barce conceded a corner which was taken by Carrasco. Jimenez headed the ball which was cheekily finished by Barca legend, Luiz Suarez. This made things nervy as Atletico was back in the back.
Things turned from bad to worse, as Dani Alves committed a clinical foul on Yannick Carrasco and was red-carded by the referee. With 10 men, Barca had a tough task up their sleeves.
However, even being 10 men, Barca managed to hold on to this slender lead, thanks to some resilient defending and tenacious ball holding. Atletico was kept at the minimum by Barcelona’s defense.
In the end, Barcelona managed a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Atletico Madrid.
As it stands, Barca moves to 4th in the table earning themselves a Champions League spot. Atletico is down to the 5th spot. Barcelona fans were really thrilled by this victory which sees their team in the top 4 for the 1st time this season.
