By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski came off the bench to score a late winner in a 2-1 victory away to 10-man Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
The match was heading for a draw until the dying moments, before Lewandowski scored Barcelona’s winner in the 87th minute.
The victory represents a major boost for Barça in the title race, as they consolidated their lead at the top of La Liga with 76 points, moving seven points clear of Real Madrid, who lost 2-1 away to Real Mallorca. Atletico stay fourth on 57 points.
Atlético dominated the early stages of the match with their usual physical intensity and opened the scoring in the 39th minute through Giuliano Simeone, who capitalised on a precise cross from Clément Lenglet to score with a powerful header.
Barcelona didn’t give the Rojiblancos much time to breathe, as the response came swiftly in the 42nd minute with a superb goal from Marcus Rashford, who capitalised on a decisive pass from Dani Olmo and cut inside from the left to level the score.
In the 78th minute, manager Hansi Flick made a double substitution to bolster the side: he brought on Gavi in place of Eric García to inject some dynamism into midfield, and introduced Lewandowski for Rashford to give the attack greater experience and a stronger presence in front of goal.
The visitors piled forward in search of a winner, Juan Musso producing a fine save to deny former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres before Lewandowski, 37, scored the late winner.
The match ended with a 2-1 win for Barcelona, confirming the team’s worthiness of top spot despite the difficulty of the away fixture.
The visitors piled forward in search of a winner, Juan Musso producing a fine save to deny former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres before Lewandowski, 37, scored the late winner.
“It’s not easy to play here because the atmosphere and emotions are very high here,” Barca boss Hansi Flick said after the game. “I am really happy with these three points.
“We need this hunger. We have to win the games. We have eight games to play. We have to stay focused and always be ready.
“We know that Champions League is totally different and every players has more to give. Everyone wants to be in the semi-final. We have three days more to prepare, to rest a little bit and focus on the next game. These are the kind of games why I do this job.”
The top two sides are due to meet again when Atletico travel to face Barcelona on Wednesday in the Champions League quarter-final first leg (20:00 BST kick-off).