Late goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi helped propel Barcelona past 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 on Saturday night at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.
With the result, Barcelona’s lead atop the LaLiga table is now 11 points, and all but ensures another league crown for the Catalonians.
A straight red-card for Diego Costa just shy of the hour mark made Atletico’s uphill task even more difficult, but Diego Simeone’s men did well to hang tough, thanks to the goalkeeping of Jan Oblak. But the dam would finally break minutes from full-time, the first off the right-foot of Suarez and the second off the gilded boot of Messi.
Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde rolled out his strongest possible XI, which meant starts for Sergi Roberto at right-back, Arthur in midfield and Philippe Coutinho up top with Messi and Suarez. As for Simeone’s squad, Costa got the nod, meaning Alvaro Morata was relegated to the bench.
The first chance of the contest went to Barcelona thanks to the ingenuity of Messi, who flighted a pass into Jordi Alba, only to see the left-back’s shot hit the post and bounce away.
In terms of passing and possession, Atletico were going toe-to-toe with the Barcelona, but the final touch was lacking and there were no major chances to speak of for Simeone’s men in the quarter of the match.
Things took a dramatic turn right before the half-hour mark, as the always combustible Costa went a step too far in his protestations to referee Gil Manzano and was promptly sent off by the Extremaduran official, leaving the Colchoneros with 10 men for the final hour.
Despite the man advantage, it was tough sledding for Barcelona. Atletico stayed compact deep in their own half, making it difficult to play any type of penetrating ball. Simeone’s men withstood the pressure and by the hour mark, considering the LaLiga table and their eight-point deficit, the Argentine boss was ready to get more aggressive, bringing on Morata for Filipe Luis.
But it was Barcelona who conjured up the next scoring chance thanks to the hard-charging Messi, who fed Suarez on the left but Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak made a superb stop in denying the Uruguayan. It was soon becoming the Oblak show, as the Slovenian was called on to stop back-to-back shots from Messi and Malcom.
At the other end the looks at goal were few and far between for the visitors from the capital, but one certain set piece almost led to a Rodrigo goal, but his header off an Antoine Griezmann free-kick sailed high and wide.
Just when it looked like things would end in a goalless draw, the Barcelona onslaught began. It started with Suarez collecting a ball outside the area and curling in a right-footer past Oblak and off the post and into net for a 1-0 lead.
The home fans didn’t even have time to sit down before the ball was back in the net again. This time courtesy of Messi, who eluded Jose Maria Gimenez’s challenge and then faked Diego Godin before sliding in a shot near post to make it 2-0, all but sealing another league title for Barcelona.
Match Sheet:
2.- Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto (Semedo, min. 84), Pique, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Arthur (Malcom, min. 63); Messi, Suarez, Coutinho (Alena, min. 80)
0.- Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Arias (Correa, min. 35), Gimenez, Godin, Filipe Luis (Morata, min. 58); Thomas, Rodrigo, Koke, Saul; Diego Costa, Griezmann
Goals: 1-0, min. 85: Suarez; 2-0, min. 86: Messi
Referee: Gil Manzano (Extremadura). Yellow Cards: Thomas (Min. 27) for Atletico, Gimenez (Min. 29) for Atletico, Saul (Min. 71) for Atletico, Pique (Min. 74) for Barcelona, Lenglet (Min. 78) for Barcelona, Suarez (Min. 86) for Barcelona
Red cards: Costa (Min. 29) for Atletico
Stadium: Camp Nou
Attendance: 92.453
