Barcelona stretched their unbeaten LaLiga run to seven games without defeat and fuelled their title aspirations, courtesy of a determined display which saw them beat Atlético Madrid 1-0 at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Real Madrid’s loss at Villarreal meant Barcelona had been gifted an opportunity to reopen a lead at the league summit, after their draw to Espanyol last time out saw their arch rivals join them on 38 points ahead of this round.
He was heavily involved as Barça took a first-half lead, beating a handful of defenders before sliding across the box to partner-in-crime Gavi, who then found Ousmane Dembélé for a composed finish and Barcelona’s first goal here since 2019.
That’s not to say Atléti didn’t put up a fight, and after ending the first half in the ascendancy, they had their foot firmly on the ball again after the restart.
However, a Barça backline – which has conceded just six LaLiga goals so far – proved a difficult obstacle to overcome, with ex-Barcelona man Antoine Griezmann failing to produce a performance as bright as the pink hair he sported this evening.
And on the basis of this performance, in a notoriously tough stadium, Barcelona’s charge for their first title since the 2018/19 campaign will take some stopping.
