With Real Madrid dropping points at Estadio de la Cerámica against fellow Spanish La Liga club Villarreal CF after the former fielded no Spanish players in its starting line-up for the first time in the history of the competition (An Austrian, a Belgian, two Brazilians, a Croatian, three Frenchmen, two Germans, and a Uruguayan), its bitter rival Barcelona knew it was the golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table. The Catalan Giants travelled to Metropolitano Stadium to face Real’s another nemesis, Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid.
Coming into the game, Barcelona was unbeaten in six recent matches in all competitions, earning five victories and drawing once while a win for Atlético would increase its chances of making it into the Top Four.
Pedri Torn Atlético’s defence Apart
Barcelona started the game with full pressure on their opponent, making life difficult for Atlético’s players. They were struggling to move the ball forward and into the opposing half, allowing 20-year-old Spanish wonderkid Pedri to make use of the opportunity. He broke away from the midfield and sent a pass to his Spain teammate Gavi, before the latter rolled the ball to Ousmane Dembélé on the right. The Frenchman coolly slotted home a goal with his right foot to give Xavi’s men an advantage. Atlético Madrid claiming that was a foul during the build-up of the play but the referee stood with his decision: Barcelona’s no. 7 scored his seventh goal in all competitions for the team in red and blue.
Diego Simeone’s men were not going to go down without a tough fight, and they managed an astonishing 20 shots throughout the game, including a José Giménez’s dangerous header in the 33rd minute and a close range effort from Antoine Griezmann that was fired at the centre of Marc-André ter Stegen. The Mâcon-born Frenchman almost helped the home team to snatch a point from the visitors, only to have his effort blocked and was told the ball did not cross the line in the dying seconds of the match. The 1-0 margin was sufficient for the Catalan Giants to secure the win and all three points to stay firmly on top of the La Liga table, three points clear of Real Madrid, which is second in the table.
Ferran Torres and Stefan Savic were both sent off for fighting 😅 pic.twitter.com/sDkKwb4s87
— GOAL (@goal) January 8, 2023
Torres and Savić Went on for a Crazy Fight at the End
The highlight of the game had nothing to do with football as Barcelona’s Ferran Torres and Atlético Madrid’s Stefan Savić were involved in a wrestling fight in the 92nd minute of the game. Replay showed both players were going at it to fight for possession as the home team trying to find an equaliser while the away one wanted to maintain their lead. The former Manchester City pair started the brawl when Torres kicked the away as he was falling over the defender, before grabbing Savić and flipping him over. The 32-year-old Montenegro was not having it and retaliated at Torres by grabbing him by his neck too. The two were given a straight red, with extra punishments considered by the La Liga personnel as a result.
Barcelona’s triumphant today meant they are now undefeated in seven consecutive games and will play Real Betis in the Supercopa de España semifinal while Atlético Madrid will face UD Almería in its next league game. Real Madrid too will be involved in the other semifinal of the Supercopa de España, when they go against Valencia CF at home.
Manchester City made it three wins out of three against Chelsea this season in all competitions, with Riyad Mahrez scoring a brace in the 4-0 win, full details are here: https://www.otherleague.com/football/city-beat-chelsea-twice-in-less-than-72-hours-mahrez-scored-again-versus-the-blues/
