Robert Lewandowski netted an 87th-minute winner as Barcelona overcame 10-man Atletico Madrid, extending their lead over Real Madrid to seven points at the top of LaLiga.
After seeing their Clasico rivals fall to a stoppage-time loss against Mallorca earlier on Saturday, Hansi Flick’s defending champions had a prime opportunity to increase their lead, though they had to recover from Giuliano Simeone’s opener for Atleti.
Marcus Rashford quickly equalized, and Barcelona enjoyed a numerical advantage for the entire second half after Nicolas Gonzalez was sent off for a last-man foul on Lamine Yamal.
Barcelona benefited when Gerard Martin had a red card overturned shortly after the restart, and they capitalized on the reprieve as Lewandowski fortuitously bundled in the decisive goal late on.
Atleti nearly took the lead in the 11th minute when Antoine Griezmann – set to join Orlando City at season’s end – skipped past two defenders and found himself in a perfect position, only to fire straight at Joan Garcia.
Fermin Lopez then went close for Barcelona after an incredible nutmeg and outside-of-the-foot pass from Yamal, who also struck the crossbar with a delicate dinked effort.
Atleti opened the scoring in the 39th minute as Simeone controlled Clement Lenglet’s lofted pass and finished confidently to the right side of the net, but the advantage lasted just three minutes as Rashford squeezed a shot through Juan Musso’s legs following a give-and-go with Dani Olmo.
Just before halftime, Atleti suffered another setback as Gonzalez lunged on Yamal attempting to maneuver into the box. VAR confirmed Yamal was onside and the foul occurred outside the area, resulting in a straight red for Gonzalez as the last man.
Another VAR review favored Barcelona 45 seconds into the second half when Martin had his straight red card rescinded, much to Atleti’s frustration, after he appeared to catch Thiago Almada’s ankle with his studs.
Musso denied Ferran Torres twice, including a remarkable stop at close range, as Barcelona pressed the hosts, but the goalkeeper misjudged Joao Cancelo’s late effort, parrying it onto Lewandowski’s shoulder and allowing the ball to bounce over him into the net.
