The rest of the world is not as concerned with the message of Easter (going to the cabin in the mountains) as in Norway and has started playing football again. – On Saturday, La liga was probably decided for the season.
It seems as if Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone has fallen back on old sins by starting games with his strongest card Alexander Sorloth on the bench. – Only after 62 minutes was the Norwegian striker put in.
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A strange decision in a heavily rotated Atletico Madrid that was without five key players, in addition to that rested Julian Alvarez and David Hancko. Hansi Flick also experimented, but perhaps not with as sharp an eye in Wednesday’s Champions League clash, with Dani Olmo in ninth place ahead of Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski.
With a goal after 87 minutes, Robert Lewandowski secured Barcelona a 2-1 win over Atlético Madrid.
FC Barcelona are seven points ahead of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with only eight rounds left in the season.
That is the bottom line after a Saturday in which Real Madrid surprisingly lost 1-2 to bottom side Mallorca at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix, while Barcelona later won by the same figure in a heated encounter with Atlético Madrid.
Both goals for Barcelona came from players who do not have a contract after the end of the season. Robert Lewandowski has so far not been able to renew his contract and Marcus Rashford, who is on loan from Manchester United, sees, like the rest of the world, that Barcelona did not exercise the option to buy. – The call option expired on 31 March.
Polish veteran striker Robert Lewandowski came off the bench and scored the match-winner for Barcelona, who dominated the entire second half. Apart from a red card, the match also featured ten yellow cards and several lengthy VAR reviews.
The match in the capital was the first of three between Barcelona and Atlético Madrid in just ten days, as the two also meet in the Champions League quarter-finals. The first meeting is on Wednesday at Camp Nou.
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Just like in the season’s three head-to-head encounters so far in league and cup, there was plenty of momentum on Saturday night from the first whistle.
Antoine Griezmann and Fermin López each played at opposite ends, and after 35 minutes, Lamine Yamal hit the outside of the post after his first dangerous action.
However, it was the coach’s son Guiliano Simeone who opened the ball, when he kicked the ball into the goal after barely 40 minutes to make it 1-0 after a long and precise play by former Barcelona player Clement Lenglet.
Just a couple of minutes later, Marcus Rashford balanced the score after a combination with Dani Olmo in a well-executed conversion, and it was the start of a bad period for the hosts. – Manager Hansi Flick, who has been a huge success since taking over in 2024, was hailed after goal number 300 in his era. There is a bit of irony in the fact that goals number 300 and 301 came from players who will soon leave the Camp Nou if nothing happens very soon.
Before half-time, left-back Nicolás González was presented with his second yellow card – later changed to a direct red card – for stopping Yamal just outside the box.
Immediately after the restart, Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone cheered when Gerard Martín received a direct red card for being late in a duel.
But the smile hardened when the referee after being at the VAR screen changed his ruling to a yellow card, and Barcelona were still in the majority.
Barcelona dominated greatly, but the home side’s last defence, Juan Musso, did well in those situations that the hard-fighting defence could not solve themselves.
After 87 minutes, however, the Argentine had to give up, when Barcelona’s Portuguese full-back João Cancelo forced a rebound that hit Lewandowski on the shoulder and bounced into the goal.
