Barcelona surged three points clear of La Liga after defeating Atletico Madrid 1-0 on the strength of a goal from Ousmane Dembele.
Both teams were able to go forward and into hazardous situations at the beginning of the game. Atletico retreated into their usual defensive formation as Barcelona soon took possession of the ball, inviting them on and expecting to win the ball so they could launch a counterattack.
In the 22nd minute, Xavi’s team broke through as Pedri drove through the center of Atletico before finding Gavi, who cleverly used his body before passing it off to Dembele, who slid it past Jan Oblak.
Around the 30-minute mark, Diego Simeone’s team started to perk up, advancing up the field and playing more aggressively in search of a goal to tie the score. The hosts began the second half in the same way they concluded the first, pushing forward in search of an equalizer but unable to create many clear-cut opportunities. Atletico then strongly finished the first half.
By maintaining possession of the ball and thwarting the Atletico players, Barcelona handled the Atletico storm admirably. The second half saw no shots on goal for Xavi’s team, but they did a great job of controlling the ball in typical Barcelona fashion.
After a scuffle off the ball, Stefan Savic and Ferran Torres were both dismissed from the match, and then Antoine Greizmann was dismissed mere minutes later.