Barcelona 1-2 Atletico Madrid: Sorloth snatches smash-and-grab victory

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 clash in LaLiga.

Sorloth scored deep into stoppage time as Atleti completed a comeback victory that sent them three points clear of the Blaugrana at the summit of Spain’s top tier.

Rodrigo De Paul had earlier restored parity, drilling home on the hour mark at the end of a swift counter-attack from Diego Simeone’s team.

It was a tale of chances created but not taken for Barca, who went ahead through Pedri’s 30th-minute effort.

Pedri’s opener was nothing less than Hansi Flick’s side deserved, with Atleti unable to muster a shot in the first half at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

But when Raphinha’s lob hit the bar and Atleti went up the other end and equalised, the tone was set for a night that ultimately got away from Barca, who were also frustrated by the excellent Jab Oblak.

Barca are now winless in three league games, and after leading the way all season so far, they could now find themselves in third place heading into 2025.

3 – #Barcelona have lost each of their last three home games in @LaLigaEn. It’s their worst run in the competition after two other three-game losing streaks in 1965 and 1987. Breakdown. pic.twitter.com/3UPBkB0WvI

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 21, 2024

Data Debrief: Barca’s untimely slip-up

Watching on from the stands as he served out his touchline ban, Flick must have wondered what more his team had to do to get the three points – that was, at least, until they were punished on the break in the final seconds.

Barca created chances worth 2.5 expected goals, having 19 shots to Atleti’s five, though the visitors hit the target with four of those in a clinical show of counter-attacking force.

But their defence is now a huge cause for concern. While they can put some of their profligate finishing down to bad fortune, Barca have now conceded in each of their last eight LaLiga games, their worst run without a clean sheet in the competition since one of 11 between September and November 2018.

They have lost four of their last seven LaLiga matches (W1 D2), as many defeats as in their previous 34 games in the competition (W27 D3 L4), and with Real Madrid just a point behind, the title race is shaping up intriguingly heading into the new year.