Barcelona stretched their lead at the top of LaLiga to five points overnight after a hard-fought 3–1 victory over Atlético Madrid, bringing an abrupt end to Los Rojiblancos’ impressive 13-match unbeaten run and adding another victory after seeing off Alaves away from home in their previous fixture.
Softfootball predicted in the pre-match review that this wasn’t the kind of match anyone expected to be quiet, and it definitely wasn’t. Barcelona were so happy with the result, tagging it a huge win in a post via their official X account.
They posted:
The game exploded into life almost immediately, with both sides creating half-chances inside the first few minutes. Raphinha fired an early effort over the bar, while Álex Baena buzzed around energetically for Atléti, trying to give his side a foothold.
Even though Barcelona kept most of the early possession, Atlético looked just that little bit sharper with their passing, and it paid off. Baena timed his run perfectly from the centre circle and finished with a calmness that didn’t match the chaos around him.
Barcelona’s reaction was exactly what you’d expect: relentless waves of pressure. Atléti held their shape for a while with a compact five-man back line, but eventually Raphinha broke through, rounding Jan Oblak and slotting home a tidy equaliser just moments after going behind.
The hosts kept pushing, and when Dani Olmo was tripped in the box, it seemed the comeback script was writing itself. Instead, Robert Lewandowski blasted a poor penalty high into the stands. Oblak then denied him again with a brilliant save from close range.
The second half began with Barca pressing furiously, but the first real chance fell to Julián Álvarez, whose chipped attempt was comfortably collected by Joan García.
More chances followed at both ends before Olmo wriggled free and swept in a cool left-footed finish, injuring himself in the process.
Ferran Torres replaced him and later delivered the final blow, scoring deep into stoppage time after a frantic spell that felt more like pinball than football.
The win means Barcelona have now lost just one of the last ten league meetings between the two sides, continuing their long-standing dominance at home.
