Alexander Sorloth’s last-minute strike sealed a smash-and-grab 2-1 win for Atletico Madrid over Barcelona in Saturday’s top-of-the-table conflict in LaLiga.
Sorloth scored deep into stoppage time as Atleti accomplished a comeback victory that despatched them three factors away from the Blaugrana on the summit of Spain’s prime tier.
Rodrigo De Paul had earlier restored parity, drilling residence on the hour mark on the finish of a swift counter-attack from Diego Simeone’s group.
It was a story of probabilities created however not taken for Barca, who went forward by Pedri’s Thirtieth-minute effort.
Pedri’s opener was nothing lower than Hansi Flick’s facet deserved, with Atleti unable to muster a shot within the first half at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
However when Raphinha’s lob hit the bar and Atleti went up the opposite finish and equalised, the tone was set for an evening that in the end bought away from Barca, who have been additionally pissed off by the superb Jab Oblak.
Barca are actually winless in three league video games, and after main the best way all season thus far, they may now discover themselves in third place heading into 2025.
3 – #Barcelona have misplaced every of their final three residence video games in @LaLigaEn. It’s their worst run within the competitors after two different three-game shedding streaks in 1965 and 1987. Breakdown. pic.twitter.com/3UPBkB0WvI
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 21, 2024
Information Debrief: Barca’s premature slip-up
Watching on from the stands as he served out his touchline ban, Flick will need to have puzzled what extra his group needed to do to get the three factors – that was, not less than, till they have been punished on the break within the closing seconds.
Barca created probabilities value 2.5 anticipated objectives, having 19 pictures to Atleti’s 5, although the guests hit the goal with 4 of these in a medical present of counter-attacking drive.
However their defence is now an enormous trigger for concern. Whereas they’ll put a few of their profligate ending all the way down to dangerous fortune, Barca have now conceded in every of their final eight LaLiga video games, their worst run with no clear sheet within the competitors since one among 11 between September and November 2018.
They’ve misplaced 4 of their final seven LaLiga matches (W1 D2), as many defeats as of their earlier 34 video games within the competitors (W27 D3 L4), and with Actual Madrid only a level behind, the title race is shaping up intriguingly heading into the brand new 12 months.