Saturday’s showdown between Spanish La Liga mainstays FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid ended up becoming a controversial matchup.
The Catalan side survived the match, pulling out a 2-1 victory with a late goal by Polish striker Robert Lewandowski. The game-winner came in the 88th minute, with Atletico playing the entire second half with 10 men.
The controversial ejection by Argentinian defender Nico Gonzalez came in injury time during the tail end of the first half. FC Barcelona star Lamine Yamal broke away, poised to score the go-ahead goal.
However, Gonzalez snuffed out the scoring chance with a hard challenge that led to Yamal landing on the pitch in pain. The referee issued the second yellow card of the match to Gonzalez, effectively sending him off for the night.
That play left the Atletico side with 10 men. But that wasn’t the end of the controversial plays.
Early in the second half, a collision involving FC Barcelona midfielder Gerardo Martin led to an automatic red card on the pitch. However, the booking was overturned on a VAR review. The play instead became a yellow card for Martin.
The red card would have evened the playing field at 10 players apiece. However, FC Barcelona escaped, keeping the numerical advantage.
While Atletico held on for much of the second half, Lewandowski’s goal sealed the victory for Barcelona. The La Liga leaders now have 76 points after 30 matches. Meanwhile, Atletico remains in fourth place with 57 points, one behind Villareal for third.
FC Barcelona Did Well to Avoid Indiscipline
Saturday night’s match was a highly undisciplined one for Atletico. Diego Simeone’s side racked up six yellow cards and one red. Meanwhile, Hansi Flick’s squad held the line, receiving just two yellow cards.
Of course, the most controversial one for FC Barcelona was the overturned red card to Gerardo Martin. The match, nonetheless, was a solid effort by the Spanish giant. Barcelona logged a total of 11 fouls to Atletico’s 15. That situation marked a significant difference, as the Catalan squad pretty much dominated the match right from the beginning.
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Atletico Could Not Muster Much on Saturday Night
All told, FC Barcelona manhandled Atletico. The final numbers showed Barcelona keeping the ball 69% of the time. Meanwhile, Flick’s side fired a total of 23 shots, with nine coming on target.
Atletico’s offensive output, meanwhile, paled in comparison. Despite getting a goal, the Madrid side managed just six shots, with two hitting the mark. Atletico barely got one corner kick to FC Barcelona’s nine.
The numbers showed a dominant performance from Barcelona, but the eye test proved the club barely got past Atletico in one of the day’s most anticipated matches.
FC Barcelona and Atletico will meet once again on Wednesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal series. Simeone’s squad will get the chance to exact revenge in one of the season’s biggest events.
The match should be an entertaining one with plenty of animosity running high between both clubs.
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