MADRID (AP) — Barcelona increased its Spanish league lead by coming from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday, with Dani Olmo scoring the go-ahead goal but hurting his shoulder in the process.
Olmo injured his left shoulder in a fall after sending a left-footed strike into the net in the 65th minute for Barcelona's second goal at Camp Nou stadium. Atletico had opened the scoring with Álex Baena, and Raphinha equalized for the hosts in the first half.
Olmo was in visible pain after going down and couldn't celebrate the goal that left Barcelona four points ahead of Real Madrid. The Barcelona playmaker was immediately substituted and had to be assisted off the field by the club's medical staff.
The 19th-round match was moved forward because the teams will be playing in the Spanish Super Cup in January. Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, who will also play in the Super Cup, will meet in Bilbao on Wednesday.
“It was a key match and these three points were important,” Raphinha said after Barcelona's fifth straight league win. “They could help decide the league in the end.”
Atletico, sitting in fourth place, dropped six points behind Barcelona after 15 matches. Diego Simeone's team had won seven in a row in all competitions.
“Barça played better,” Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak said. “We had a couple of chances to equalize but we couldn't get it done. Unfortunately this ends our good run, but we have to lift our heads and move on.”
Barcelona is still playing at a Camp Nou that can't be filled to capacity because of the lack of permits following its major renovation work.
Baena put the visitors ahead in a breakaway in the 19th after picking up a long pass by Nahuel Molina behind the Barcelona defense. The goal had to be confirmed after a video-review check for offside.
Raphinha equalized in the 26th after a nice through ball from Pedri. The Brazil forward cleared Oblak inside the area before finding the open net.
Barcelona had a chance to move ahead in the 36th after Olmo was fouled by Pablo Barrios inside the area to prompt a penalty kick, but Robert Lewandowski sent his shot from the spot way over the crossbar in a rare miss for the veteran Poland striker.
Thiago Almada nearly equalized for Atletico in the 80th after clearing a couple of Barcelona defenders inside the area. Ferran Torres, who replaced Olmo, sealed the victory for Barcelona deep into stoppage time.
Both teams lost players because of apparent injuries in the second half. Barcelona saw Pedri go out in the 74th and Atletico had Baena substituted in the 63rd.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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cube_corner said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
craigwiesner said:
Hey John! Just had a nice customer come into our shop to praise this column (she thought I wrote it). Of course I told her it was you! Cheers.
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