Sports
Blaugrana extend lead at top
Barcelona are now four points clear at the top of the table.
Barcelona came from behind to extend their lead over Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga to four points with a 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou.
The Blaugrana came into the game a point ahead of their arch rivals, but fell behind in the 19th minute when Alex Baena lifted a finish over Joan Garcia.
But Raphinha responded quickly for Barca, who then had a chance to complete the turnaround from the penalty spot, only for Robert Lewandowski to blaze his effort from 12 yards high over the bar.
Yet that only delayed the inevitable, and Dani Olmo put Barca ahead with what proved his final contribution of the game, with Barca seeing the game out from there before Olmo’s replacement Ferran Torres made the points safe in injury time.
Lewandowski fluffs his lines
Baena broke the deadlock when he raced onto Nahuel Molina’s long ball over the top and beat Garcia with a delicate finish. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but a VAR check revealed that Baena had stayed the right side of Barca’s high line.
Pedri played Raphinha through to round Jan Oblak seven minutes later, and Barca looked set to take the lead before half-time in the 36th minute after Pablo Barrios brought down Olmo.
Yet Lewandowski fluffed his lines dramatically, and the Pole was further frustrated when Oblak kept out his point-blank header from Lamine Yamal’s right-wing cross.
Olmo and Torres seal Barcelona win
Julian Alvarez experienced a similar feeling of irritation seven minutes into the second half as he was denied by a fine save from Garcia.
And Atleti were punished for failing to beat the Barca keeper, Olmo finishing off a fine team move by finding the bottom-right corner.
Olmo suffered an injury in the act of scoring, leading to his withdrawal, though that did not stop Barca’s momentum, with Yamal firing narrowly wide as they looked to kill the game off.
After Rashford was thwarted by Oblak, Torres did secure victory for Barca, brilliantly controlling Alejandro Balde’s pass before lashing home an unstoppable close-range effort.
