Lewandowski’s Brilliance Leads Barcelona to Victory Over Atletico Madrid 3-0 in La Liga Showdown
Barcelona showcased their strength and determination as Robert Lewandowski spearheaded their triumph over Atletico Madrid with a commanding 3-0 victory, reigniting their hopes for the La Liga title race.
Barcelona surpassed Girona in third place by two points, and Atletico moved up to fifth place when Athletic Bilbao passed them on Saturday.
Lewandowski put Barcelona in second place, eight points behind champions Real Madrid, by setting up goals for Joao Felix and Fermin Lopez after scoring one himself.
The Catalans were the first club this season to defeat Atletico at the Metropolitano stadium when they made their Champions League quarterfinal comeback this week after four years away.
The last club to triumph at Atletico in the Premier League was Barcelona in January 2023; Diego Simeone’s squad had gone 25 games without losing in between.
They gave up to Xavi Hernandez’s team, who have already defeated Atletico five times in a row and are unbeaten in ten games since the coach announced he would be leaving at the end of the season.
Barcelona surpassed Girona in third place by two points, and Atletico moved up to fifth place when Athletic Bilbao passed them on Saturday.
Xavi told, “I’ll push the (players) more than ever,” indicating that he will not give up on Barcelona’s title defense.
“And now that I’m leaving, even more so — we will try to improve and compete for La Liga and the Champions League, the two most important trophies.”
In a 120-minute match against Inter Milan on Wednesday in Europe, Simeone’s team outperformed Barcelona, despite Barcelona defeating Napoli the day before. Pablo Barrios wasted a terrific early opportunity, while Pau Cubarsi, a 17-year-old sensation, stopped Alvaro Morata’s shot.
But after 38 minutes, against the flow of play, Barcelona took the lead.
From midfield, Ilkay Gundogan skillfully advanced and connected with Lewandowski, who set up on-loan striker Felix for a goal against his parent team.
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When the clubs met in December, the Portuguese striker netted the game’s lone goal and once more proved to be a pain in Atletico’s side, drawing constant jeers from the home crowd.
Xavi was sent out for disobedience prior to halftime, but his squad persisted in the second half.
In an attempt to add extra energy for the last three minutes, Simeone brought in Memphis Depay and Antoine Griezmann.
After Rodrigo de Paul gave the ball away in a risky location, Lewandowski swiftly doubled Barcelona’s lead with a deadly finish.
Marcos Llorente was denied by a spectacular stop from Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but Atletico were beginning to fade after their midweek exploits. Lewandowski’s inch-perfect pass set Lopez up for Barca’s third goal, and the seasoned Polish striker turned in one of his greatest games for the team.
Lopez, who also scored in the victory over Napoli, had an incredible week that ended with the goal.
“We’re believing until the end, (now we’re in) second place, trying to cut the points gap and fight for La Liga,” Lopez stated.
Nahuel Molina of Atletico was sent off for tackling Vitor Roque in the closing moments of the game as Barcelona completed their thrilling victory and maintained a league record-high four straight clean sheets.
“They were superior, they put away their first chances for goals,” said Simeone.
“We’ll keep pushing for fourth place, it will be difficult, tricky, that’s normal . we have to keep improving, a lot.”
Earlier, Almeria defeated Las Palmas 1-0 to snap a dire losing skid and gain their first La Liga victory of the year.
Leo Baptistao’s goal in the 14th minute ended the Andalusian team’s horrific run of 31 league games without a win, which dates back to May of last year. This was coach Pepe Mel’s first game in command of the team.
With nine games left, Mel’s team is still 14 points from safety despite their road victory. Almeria’s 31-game losing streak is the longest in the division’s history, yet their current point total is tied with Sporting Gijon’s lowest-ever total from 1997–98.
“Winning today means a liberation (for the team) … winning three points and changing the dynamic,” Mel added.
With the win, Almeria’s point total will not be less than Derby County’s 11 from the 2007–08 Premier League—the lowest amount in all of Europe’s top leagues since teams began receiving three points for a win.
