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Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images
Fermín López struck twice as Barça came from behind to beat Atlético Madrid 2-1, restoring their three-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga.
Fermín López struck twice as Barça came from behind to beat Atlético Madrid 2-1, restoring their three-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga.
Giuliano Simeone gave Atlético an early lead, but their seven-match league winning streak came to an end as the Catalans fought back at the Metropolitano courtesy of a Fermín López double.
As it happened
Right from kick-off, the home side wasted no time pressing Barcelona’s defence. Their first dangerous chance came in the fifth minute when Julián Álvarez found himself one-on-one with Joan García. He tried to round the Spanish goalkeeper but stumbled before his cutback was intercepted.
Both sides then struck the woodwork in quick succession, with Marc Pubill’s header rattling the crossbar before Pedri responded with a left-footed shot at the other end.
Atlético’s breakthrough arrived 10 minutes in when Álvarez squared the ball to his compatriot Giuliano Simeone, who met it first time and slotted it home.
After that, the Catalans looked for a quick response, with Lamine Yamal cutting the ball back to Fermín López in the 16th minute, only for Pubill to block the midfielder’s attempt to stab it home.
Although Barcelona enjoyed more possession in the first half, the hosts kept pushing forward through direct attacks, exploiting space out wide and capitalising on the visitors’ defensive mistakes.
After a series of attacks, Barça’s equaliser came on the stroke of half-time through Fermín. A deflection off Pubill sent the ball into the midfielder’s path, allowing him to curl a first-time shot past Jan Oblak.
Flick replaced Brian Fariñas with Frenkie de Jong at the break. His side came flying out of the blocks, with Yamal going close twice immediately after the restart, first shooting narrowly wide before firing over the crossbar.
Barcelona continued to press high and create chances, but Atlético remained dangerous. Álvarez found himself through on goal again as the hour mark approached, only for his attempted lob to sail over the crossbar.
In the 66th minute, Fermín put Barcelona ahead with his second goal of the night after latching onto a through ball from Yamal before firing a low right-footed shot into the far corner.
Diego Simeone introduced Jonathan David for Pablo Barrios in the 78th minute, adding another attacking option as the home side chased an equaliser.
The visitors nearly added a third in the 82nd minute when Anthony Gordon drove down the left flank and delivered a low cross into the six-yard box, but Yamal failed to make contact.
Barcelona head into the international break on 33 points from 12 matches, ahead of second-placed Real Madrid on 30. Atlético remain third on 28, five points behind the league leaders.