Atlético Madrid secured a historic triumph against Barcelona, defeating them 2-1 on Saturday evening in a highly anticipated clash during La Liga’s 18th round. The match took place at the iconic Olympic Stadium of Luis Companys.
This victory marked Atlético Madrid’s first win over Barcelona on their home turf since 2006, ending a 17-year drought. It was also a landmark achievement for Diego Simeone, marking his first-ever away victory against Barcelona since taking charge of Atlético Madrid in 2011.
The match began with Barcelona applying early pressure. In the 3rd minute, Raphinha fired a shot from inside the box, but it deflected off Gallagher.
Robert Lewandowski came close shortly after, receiving a cross and heading the ball over the bar in the 5th minute.
In the 20th minute, Barcelona players appealed for a penalty after Giuliano Simeone appeared to handle the ball in the box, but the referee dismissed their claims.
Raphinha delivered a precise cross from the right in the 25th minute, finding Gavi in the area. Gavi’s header, however, narrowly missed Oblak’s left post.
Barcelona finally broke the deadlock in the 30th minute. Pedri sprinted forward, exchanged a quick one-two with Gavi, and slotted a low shot past Oblak’s left to open the scoring.
Atlético Madrid struggled to respond strongly to Barcelona’s opening goal, and the first half concluded with the hosts holding a narrow 1-0 lead.
Early in the second half, Atlético faced a setback when José María Giménez went down with muscle discomfort in the 49th minute. Diego Simeone promptly substituted him with Axel Witsel in the 51st minute.
Barcelona nearly doubled their lead in the 57th minute when Pedri delivered a precise through ball to Raphinha, leaving him one-on-one with Oblak. However, Raphinha’s low shot struck the crossbar, denying the hosts a second goal.
Atlético Madrid found their breakthrough in the 60th minute, courtesy of Rodrigo De Paul. De Paul seized the opportunity after a poor clearance from Casado, firing a thunderous strike into the bottom left corner past goalkeeper Iñaki Peña to level the score.
Barcelona pushed for a response in the 65th minute, with Raphinha delivering a cross from the right wing. Lewandowski, however, failed to connect with the ball, letting a golden opportunity to restore the lead slip away.
Julián Álvarez came close to securing a second goal for Atlético Madrid in the 76th minute with a powerful shot, but Iñaki Peña produced a brilliant save to deny him.
In the 79th minute, substitute Dani Olmo made a promising run into Atlético’s penalty area and unleashed a shot, but it went wide of the left post.
Barcelona continued to press, and in the 87th minute, Pedri fired a shot from inside the box, only for Oblak to make an excellent save, diverting the ball for a corner.
Atlético Madrid sealed a dramatic victory in the sixth minute of stoppage time (90+6). Following a swift counterattack, Nahuel Molina delivered a precise cross from the right wing to Alexander Sørloth, who calmly slotted the ball past Peña, securing a memorable win for the visitors.
