Published
FootballBarcelona take control of La Liga
Sunday evening, Xavi’s men obtained a short but precious victory (1-0) against Atlético. It allows them to be the only leaders of the championship.
Muscular duel between Atlético Madrid of Marcos Llorente (left) and Barcelona of Alejandro Balde, Sunday evening in Madrid in La Liga.
AFP
FC Barcelona suffered but ended up winning 1-0 in Madrid against Atlético after a shock of the 16th day of La Liga which kept its promises.
After its poor performance in the derby against Espanyol (1-1) at the end of the year and a qualification for the King’s Cup snatched against the modest club of D3 CF Intercity at the end of the extension (3-3, 4-3) Thursday, Barça had to react.
A school action on the opening of the score
It was complicated, but Xavi’s men did it with courage. They opened the scoring on a school action: after work in the heart of the game, Pedri, launched in a series of dribbles, relied on Gavi who, with a small headline, dismissed Reinildo before shifting Ousmane Dembélé without opposition.
The French winger did not question himself by placing a cross shot out of reach of Jan Oblak (22nd). After protests from the Madrid players, the goal was validated with the help of VAR.
The Catalan defense held firm
Despite the various attempts by Colchoneros, Barça’s defense held firm and brought back a precious success in the title race which allows the Catalan club to settle alone in the lead with three points ahead of Real Madrid, beaten on Saturday by Villarreal (2-1).
On the other hand, Atlético Madrid lost its illusions and found itself relegated to 5th place in the championship, now 14 points behind its winner of the day.
(AFP)