Atlético knocked out Barcelona with a perfect tactic.
Atlético’s Rodrigo De Paul aired his equalizer against Barcelona. EPA / AOP
Barcelona seemed to have already shaken off their recent compunctions against Atlético, as they dominated the opening period of La Liga’s top fight practically to their heart’s content.
Peter lived up to his nickname “Mago” (Magician) on the half hour mark when he completed the opening goal Gavin after a heel pass.
The home team had several chances to increase their lead, but with luck and the goalkeeper Jan Oblak’s however, Atlético kept up with their defensive skills.
In the second period, however, Barça’s intensity dropped, and the Argentinian duo Julian Alvarez–Rodrigo De Paul was able to level the match at the hour mark.
The hosts had a chance to break Atlético’s quick counter-attack, but the 21-year-old Marc Casadón the clearance attempt was weak and only left the ball directly to De Paul in the shooting position.
Even after that, Barcelona looked inexorably to win, but the waste became very expensive, because the Norwegian Alexander Sørloth went on to score a dramatic 1-2 goal deep in extra time given by the referee.
This time De Paul released first Nahuel Molinawhose centering was so strong that Sørloth only had to put mono in between and the ball bounced into the roof of the goal.
The 2-1 away win made Atlético the “Christmas champion”. The red and whites now have 41 points. However, Real Madrid (37 points) has one match less played.
It plays its last match of the fall season on Sunday against Sevilla and starts 2025 already on its third day with a match in Valencia that was postponed due to the flood disaster.
So Real Madrid could be two points ahead of the league before Atlético play their next league game in mid-January.