There's no other way to put it: Atlético Madrid Atlético Madrid-ed Barcelona Saturday, claiming a last-gasp 2-1 away win in a clash between the top two teams in La Liga.
Despite taking a first-half lead and holding Diego Simeone's notoriously defense-first side to just five shot attempts, Barça's day ended in a nightmare when Alexander Sørloth gleefully finished off a 96th-minute counter-attack, giving Atlético the three points with nearly the last kick of the game at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.
The victory sent Atlético — who kicked the game off trailing Barcelona on goal difference — to the top of the table heading into La Liga's winter break.
The match seemed headed towards a solid Barça win. Pedri's 30th-minute goal came with exactly the kind of precise, intelligent work required to pick the lock against Simeone's famously organized Atlético, and it looked as if manager Hansi Flick's absence due to suspension wouldn't keep Barcelona from heading into the break in pole position.
At halftime, Atlético had not been credited with a shot attempt. When a look at goal arrived in the 53rd minute, it was more like a joke: Clément Lenglet, standing over a free kick several yards inside his own half, tried to lob Iñaki Peña, but was roundly jeered for the bizarre choice as the Barça goalkeeper was very much in position to make the easiest of catches.
However, Atlético's fighting spirit came to the fore, even as the visitors were largely stuck defending deep. Finally, on the hour mark Atlético put together a dangerous counter, and though Julián Álvarez's cutback missed all three runners, Barcelona's scrambling allowed Rodrigo De Paul to sweep in and cap the move off with a goal.
The script seemed to point towards an obvious conclusion: Barça would camp out in the Atlético half looking for a winner, while Simeone's side would drop deep to fend off an onslaught. A road point, all things considered, would be an outstanding result.
However, precisely when it looked like Barcelona would run out of time and deal with a frustrating outcome, things got much worse. Atlético gained possession on the edge of its own penalty area, working the ball to the right for De Paul, and the only players truly sprinting were wearing the visitors' pale blue away kit.
Nahuel Molina turned on the jets, and once De Paul rewarded the effort with a pass in behind, the hosts were in deep trouble. Molina's low cross somehow evaded Pau Cubarsí, allowing Sørloth to side-foot past Peña for a sucker-punch of a winner.
With Atléti claiming its first away win against Barcelona since 2006, Simeone's side opened up a three-point gap to the hosts, and are four ahead of city rivals Real Madrid.