Barcelona surged four points ahead of Real Madrid in the LaLiga standings after coming from behind to defeat Atlético Madrid at the Nou Camp.
Atlético Madrid entered the match with a seven-game winning streak across all competitions, with their last league defeat dating back to August 17. They initially took the lead when Álex Baena beat Barça’s offside trap to score in the early minutes.
However, Raphinha quickly equalized for Barcelona, and although Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty, second-half goals from Dani Olmo and substitute Ferran Torres ensured a hard-fought win for the Catalans.
Olmo’s goal in the 65th minute, however, came at a potential cost, as he appeared to injure his left arm during the follow-through and exited the pitch clutching his shoulder in pain.
At this moment, Barcelona can take pride in extending their lead over their rivals, Real Madrid, who have the chance to reduce the gap back to one point with a win against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday evening.
In their past meeting, Atlético Madrid ended an 18-year wait for an away league victory against Barcelona, but this time they struck first after just 18 minutes when Baena capitalized on a high defensive line to score.
Baena connected with Nahuel Molina’s through ball, racing through on goal and lofting the ball over Joan García. Although the offside flag was raised, VAR overturned the decision.
Barcelona, who had won their previous four league matches, equalized just eight minutes later when Pedri assisted Raphinha, who rounded Jan Oblak to slot the ball into an empty net.
The hosts nearly took the lead when Pablo Barrios fouled Olmo in the penalty area, but Lewandowski missed the resulting spot-kick and saw another close-range header saved by Oblak shortly after.
Lewandowski struggled again at the start of the second half, but he eventually set up Olmo in the box, who finished with a confident low left-footed shot past Oblak.
However, Olmo landed awkwardly on his shoulder after scoring and left the pitch in evident discomfort, replaced by Torres and Marcus Rashford.
Thiago Almada missed a significant opportunity, cutting onto his right foot but ultimately sending his shot wide after being off balance.
Finally, Torres secured the victory for Barcelona, finding the net from close range after being left unmarked following a low cross from Alex Balde.