Robert Lewandowski motivated Barcelona to a 3-0 victory at Atletico Madrid on Sunday to maintain their slim chances of winning La Liga.
Lewandowski assisted in goals for Joao Felix and Fermin Lopez as Barcelona moved into second place, trailing leaders Real Madrid by eight points.
The resurgent Catalans, who advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals this week, became the first team to defeat Atletico at the Metropolitano stadium this season.
Barcelona were the last team to win at Atletico in the top flight as well, with Diego Simeone’s team going 25 matches without losing in between.
They struggled against Xavi Hernandez’s team, who now have five consecutive wins against Atletico and are unbeaten in 10 matches since the coach announced his departure at the end of the season.
Barcelona moved two points ahead of third-placed Girona, while Atletico are now fifth, after Athletic Bilbao moved above them on Saturday.
Spanish champions Barcelona fielded Hector Fort at left-back due to Joao Cancelo's injury, while Andreas Christensen felt discomfort during warm-up and was replaced by Lopez.
This meant Ilkay Gundogan moved to the holding midfield position, and Barcelona had to face Atletico without the stability that Christensen had recently brought to their midfield, in addition to the absences of Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, and Gavi.
Atletico played 120 minutes against Inter Milan on Wednesday on their way to the Champions League quarter-finals and although Barcelona defeated Napoli a day before, it was Simeone’s team who started stronger.
Pablo Barrios missed a good early opportunity for the Rojiblancos by shooting wide when well positioned.
Barcelona’s 17-year-old defender Pau Cubarsi, recently called up to the Spain squad for the first time, did well to block an Alvaro Morata effort.
However, it was Barcelona who took the lead after 38 minutes, against the run of play, when they produced a smooth move for the first time in the match.
Gundogan moved forward from midfield and found Lewandowski, who passed to on-loan forward Felix to score against his parent club.
The Portuguese striker scored the only goal when the teams met in December and again proved to be a problem for Atletico while being jeered by home fans throughout.
– Strong performance –
Xavi was sent off before halftime for dissent but his team continued to play well in the second half.
Simeone brought on Antoine Griezmann and Memphis Depay in search of more attacking threat.
Lewandowski swiftly doubled Barcelona’s lead with a lethal finish, after Rodrigo de Paul lost the ball in a dangerous area.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen made an excellent save to deny Marcos Llorente and nearly created Barcelona’s third goal, but Lewandowski missed a shot wide after receiving his accurate long pass.
Atletico were starting to tire after their midweek exertions and Barcelona took advantage.
Lopez scored with a header after Lewandowski provided him with a perfectly placed cross, with the experienced Polish striker delivering one of his best performances for the club since joining in 2022.
The goal completed a fantastic week for Lopez, who also scored in the win over Napoli.
Barcelona put midfielder Marc Casado, who is 20 years old, into the game for his first La Liga appearance towards the end as they secured their impressive win against 10 men. Atletico's Nahuel Molina got a red card for fouling Vitor Roque late in the game.
AFP
