Barcelona won 1-0 against Atletico Madrid in La Liga thanks to a goal by Ferran Torres, which helped them break out of a recent period of poor form. This victory puts them closer to winning their first title since 2019.
Real Madrid won against Celta Vigo after two scoreless draws, reducing Barcelona’s lead. However, Torres’s goal in the first half of the game helped Barcelona maintain their 11-point lead with only eight games left.
Atletico Madrid, who were in good form, came in third place but Fernando Torres scored from outside the box in the 44th minute to lead Xavi Hernandez’s team to victory.
In the second half, both teams had opportunities to score, but Barcelona maintained their lead and handed Atletico their first loss since their last encounter in January at the Metropolitano.
The home team achieved their 23rd clean sheet of the season in La Liga, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen prevented Antoine Griezmann from scoring an equalizer with a great save.
Xavi expressed that he has always believed Marc to be one of the best three goalkeepers globally, and for their game, he thinks Marc is the most excellent.
He is dependable and so is our defense. Marc has been crucial in several instances due to his defensive abilities, which are essential.
Xavi included Frenkie de Jong in the starting line-up after his injury, but Pedri had to sit on the bench despite his two-month absence.
Griezmann, who used to play for the opposing team, almost scored right away by hitting the crossbar with a great shot from far away in the first minute after Busquets made a mistake near his own goal.
The excellent performance of the French forward was not enough to score a goal as Ter Stegen made an impressive save, following good teamwork by Yannick Carrasco, during the first half in which Atletico was dominant.
Barcelona scored just before half-time, when Raphinha passed a long ball to Torres on the edge of the box after controlling it.
When Robert Lewandowski was racing past him and asking for the ball, Torres decided to take a risk and try to score by himself. It worked out well because he was able to shoot the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net.
Barcelona scored their first goal after three games without finding the net since Torres’ goal against Elche on April 1.
Torres stated that winning the game was crucial, regardless of how it was achieved, in order to make significant progress in the pursuit of La Liga.
The team put in a lot of effort and the supporters were behind us from the start, resulting in a positive outcome.
Barcelona fans cheered as Pedri came on as a substitute in the second half and Gavi took a powerful shot towards the goal. This was an end-to-end moment in the match.
Rodrigo de Paul, the World Cup champion, had a chance to tie the game but missed the target as the match became more disorganized.
Gavi and Raphinha missed their chances to score from close range, which could have secured the win, while Ter Stegen saved Griezmann’s tricky shot.
Simeone stated that being decisive is crucial to becoming champions and having strength in both defense and offense increases the chances of winning.
During the match, Barcelona had a chance to score a second goal, but Lewandowski made a selfish decision and shot wide from far away, even though he and Raphinha were running towards the goal.
Lewandowski missed a chance to pass to a Brazilian player who could have easily scored, but he was determined to improve his own poor form in scoring goals and ended up missing the shot.
Xavi said that Ferran is very happy while Raphinha and Lewandowski are feeling a little down.
The person is happy that their team won, but disappointed that they didn’t score any goals. They mention Lewandowski being the top scorer with 17 goals and express sympathy for the other players who may feel frustrated.
The Polish striker’s wastefulness was not penalized and despite a late handball controversy involving Busquets, Barcelona emerged victorious.
Oblak stated that La Liga has been challenging for some time and remains so, and unfortunately they were not able to make it more thrilling.
If Barcelona maintains their current level of play and maintains their lead, they will be the champions of the league.