Barcelona crushed Atlético Madrid by edging closer to lifting the La Liga title with a precious 2–1 away win over Atlético on Tuesday in the standout clash of matchday 30.
Atlético took the lead with a goal in the 39th minute, scored by Julian Alvarez, the son of the team’s Madrid‑based manager. The Catalan side quickly equalised through a goal from Marcus Rashford in the 42nd minute before Atlético’s Nico Gómez was sent off with a straight red card in the seventh minute of added time.
Barcelona capitalised on their numerical advantage and snatched three vital points when Robert Lewandowski scored a second goal in the 87th minute.
With this victory, Barcelona avenged the 0–4 defeat they had suffered at the same stadium in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi‑finals and increased their tally to 76 points at the top of the table, extending their lead to seven points over second‑placed Real Madrid.
This valuable win also boosted Barcelona’s morale ahead of welcoming Atlético Madrid next Wednesday in the first leg of the Champions League quarter‑finals.
As for Atlético Madrid, their points total was frozen at 57 in fourth place after a second consecutive defeat, following their 2–3 loss to Real Madrid in the derby before the most recent international break.
