ATLETICO MADRID 1 VS 2 BARCELONA
FULL-TIME: ATLETICO MADRID 1-2 BARCELONA
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90’+1′Almost a late chance for Atletico! A long throw-in from the right flank bounces into the penalty area and almost reaches Torres, but just as the striker is about to unleash a close-range half-volley, Pique is just about able to scoop the ball away with a vital clearance.
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90′The fourth official has indicated that there will be four minutes of added time.
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85′Substitution Sergi Roberto Carnicer André Filipe Tavares Gomes
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84′A poor pass from Rafinha almost causes problems for Digne, who is immediately put under pressure by a group of Atletico players, but the Frenchman does well to evade all of them before powering forward and winning Barcelona a free-kick 40 yards away from goal.
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82′Yellow Card Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini
Neymar charges into the left-hand side of the Atletico box and then takes on Vrsaljko, but the Croatian gets in front of the Brazilian before being pushed from behind. Messi isn’t happy with the decision to award the home side a free-kick and is shown a yellow card as a result.
<<Lucas Digne
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74′Yellow Card Ángel Martín Correa
The yellow card is out once again, and this time it’s for a late challenge on Mathieu by Correa, who has left the Frenchman in a heap on the floor with his high tackle. -
73′Yellow Card Gabriel Fernández Arenas
Rakitic is welcomed to the game by Gabi, who flies into the Croatian and catches him with a nasty challenge, leaving the referee with no choice but to show him a yellow card.
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73′Substitution Kevin Gameiro >>
<<Ángel Martín Correa
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71′Substitution Andrés Iniesta Luján>>
<<Ivan Rakitić
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70′
Goal Diego Roberto Godín Leal
GOAL! Atletico have equalised! Busquets gives away a needless free-kick over on the left wing, allowing Atletico to swing a cross into the Barcelona box. That’s exactly what they do, as Koke curls a lovely ball right on to the head of Godin, who then beats Ter Stegen with a glancing header.
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70′
Assist Jorge Resurrección Merodio
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68′SubstitutionYannick Ferreira Carrasco>>
<<Fernando José Torres Sanz
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67′Barcelona break forward as they quickly try to find a way through the Atletico back line once again, but Neymar ends up clashing with Vrsaljko as the two battle for the ball in the air and the Brazilian ends up catching the defender in the face with a flailing arm.
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64′
Goal Rafael Alcântara do Nascimento
GOAL! Barcelona have taken the lead! The ball pinballs around the Atletico box as the home side struggle to deal with the danger. It eventually falls to Suarez, who spins past Godin before shooting, and his effort then rolls over to Rafinha to slot past Oblak to put Barcelona in front.
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64′
Assist Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz
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61′Messi attempts to shoot from the edge of the penalty area, but his effort is blocked and deflects out for another corner. This time it’s curled towards the near post by Neymar, but, once again, the home side are easily able to deal with the danger.
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60′Barcelona come back once again, and this time they’re able to win themselves a corner. It’s curled into the middle of the penalty area and towards Pique, but the centre-back loses out to Savic and the centre-back is able to head the ball out for a throw-in.
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59′Suarez and Neymar play a lovely one-two just outside of the Atletico penalty area over on the left flank before the Brazilian tries to tee up Messi, but he’s unable to do so and the home side are just about able to hold on.
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57′Carrasco picks up possession in the middle of the pitch and does wonderfully well to charge forward. He embarks on a great run towards the penalty area before teeing up Griezmann, who then knocks the ball over to Gameiro, but the latter is immediately closed down and loses out to a sea of green.
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56′Yellow Card Saúl Ñíguez Esclapez
The yellow card is out once again, and this time it’s Saul who receives a booking after dragging back Neymar as the Brazilian was trying to break down the left flank. -
56′Godin goes close! The resulting free-kick is fired into the right-hand side of the Barcelona box and over to Saul, who then lifts a lovely cross over to Godin. The Uruguayan comes out on top in the air before sending a header towards goal, but it loops over the top of the crossbar.
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55′Yellow Card Sergio Busquets i Burgos
The set-piece is well defended by the Atletico defence before Griezmann flies forward on a swift counter-attack, but he’s brought crashing to the ground by a hefty challenge from Busquets, who receives the first yellow card of the game as a result. -
54′Messi battles with two Atletico players before being dragged to the ground by Carrasco, leaving the referee with no choice but to award Barcelona a free-kick 30 yards away from goal. It’s fired into the penalty area and over to Pique, but the defender is closed down quickly and has to settle for a corner.
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52′Chance for Griezmann! Saul charges towards the Barcelona box after bringing down a looping ball and then quickly pokes a pass up to Griezmann, but the Frenchman is unable to fire the ball past Ter Stegen at the near post and loses out to the goalkeeper.
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51′Atletico do well to carve out a good chance on goal for themselves with a dangerous cross into the Barcelona penalty area from the right flank, but Carrasco ends up pushing Roberto in the back as the two battle for the ball and the visitors are awarded a free-kick.
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49′Big miss by Suarez! Neymar dances down the left wing before finding Messi, who then tees up Suarez. The Uruguayan skips past Luis far too easily and takes on Oblak, but he pokes his close-range strike well wide of the far post. He really should have buried that!
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48′Slightly clumsy defending from the Barcelona midfielders allows Gameiro to break into the right-hand side of the visitors’ penalty area, but the Frenchman is unable to get the better of Pique and quickly loses out to the defender.
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46′We’re underway once again!
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The two teams are making their way back out on to the pitch ahead of the start of the second half. Neither side have made any substitutions during the half-time break.
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At the other end, the Barcelona front line has been surprisingly quiet, but Neymar and, in particular, Suarez started to come into the game as the half progressed. The former has been one of their most dangerous players when pushing forward, whilst the latter went close to opening the scoring only to have his goal ruled out for a deliberate handball in the build-up.
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Barcelona ended the opening period on top, but the opening half an hour was impressively dominated by Atletico, who arguably should have scored. The home side took advantage of some suspect defending to carve out a handful of good chances, but, despite their best efforts, they were unable to find a way past Ter Stegen, who has impressed in the Barcelona goal.
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HALF-TIME: ATLETICO MADRID 0-0 BARCELONA
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45′Barcelona continue to dominate possession as they try to take advantage of Atletico’s decision to start sitting slightly deeper, but they’re unable to find a way through the sea of red and white shirts before the referee’s whistle brings an end to the first half.
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43′What a chance for Pique! Barcelona keep putting pressure on the home side as they continue to find a way back into the game after a poor start. They win themselves a corner over on the right wing and it’s fired straight on to the head of Pique, but the centre-back’s downward header is well stopped by Oblak before it can find the back of the net.
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41′Rafinha is dispossessed far too easily midway inside the Atletico half of the pitch and gifts the home side with a chance to counter-attack quickly, but Pique is there to out-muscle Gameiro and deny the Frenchman a way past the halfway line.
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35′Chance for Suarez! The game has started to open up, and this time it’s Barcelona who counter swiftly. Suarez flies down the left wing on a great run before cutting inside and shooting, but his thumping strike is sent a few yards over the top of the crossbar.
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34′Another great stop by Ter Stegen! The Barcelona back line are carved open once again as Griezmann charges into the left-hand side of the penalty area. He then tries to poke a pass across the face of goal and into the feet of Koke, but, once again, Ter Stegen is there to deny Atletico the opening goal of the game.
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27′Fantastic strike by Griezmann! The Frenchman weaves his way through the middle of the pitch before being left in far too much space just outside of the Barcelona box. He takes a quick look before firing a thumping strike towards the top right-hand corner of the net, but Ter Stegen gets a strong hand on the effort to tip it over the top of the crossbar.
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26′Atletico lose the ball in the middle of the pitch and gift possession to Neymar, who then quickly breaks forward. He sprints into the hosts’ half of the pitch and towards the penalty area, but his final touch is poor and allows Savic to easily thump the ball back up the pitch.
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24′Another clumsy foul results in a free-kick for Atletico on the halfway line. It’s thumped up to the Barcelona box and finds the head of Godin, but the defender is unable to pick out a team-mate and Sergio Busquets is eventually able to dribble his way out of trouble.
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18′Felipe Luis skips past his marker deep down the left flank before curling a cross towards Koke at the near post. The midfielder rises high and almost manages to get a head on the ball, but Sergi Roberto is just about able to beat him to it at the vital moment.
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17′Another good opportunity for Atletico! This time, a dangerous a cross into the Barcelona penalty area should be easily cleared by Samuel Umtiti, but the defender nods the ball down to Griezmann. The striker takes a quick touch before unleashing a low shot towards the near post, but Umtiti sticks out a foot to stop the effort from sneaking into the back of the net.
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16′Chance for Gabi! Atletico quickly come back once again as they try to put more pressure on the Barcelona back line. A chipped cross into the penalty area finds Gameiro, who quickly volleys the ball back to Gabi, but the midfielder’s shot from the edge of the box is fired straight into the hands of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
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15′After a lengthy period on the back, Atletico pick up possession and immediately blast the ball up towards Gameiro. The striker flies into the Barcelona box as he tries to latch on to the pass, but Gerard Pique does well to out-muscle his opponent.
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14′Neymar makes a great run down the left wing as he dances his way into the Atletico half of the pitch. He does well to skip past two defenders before poking a low cross into the penalty area, but there’s noody there to meet it and Stefan Savic is able to thump the ball away.
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12′As expected, Barcelona have enjoyed the majority of possession so far but have struggled to do much with it. Their attempted attacking moves have been slightly too slow, allowing Atletico to get plenty of bodies behind the ball to snuff out the danger.
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10′Sime Vrsaljko and Neymar have a slight coming together as they both try to pick up possession over on the right wing. The Croatian seems to come out on top as he attempts to keep the Brazilian at bay whilst lying on the floor, but, despite the pleas from the Atletico fans, Barcelona are eventually awarded a throw-in once the ball rolls out of play.
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8′Atletico are caught in possession just outside of their own penalty area, allowing Barcelona to quickly hit them on a counter-attack. Suarez does well to muscle his way forward before teeing up Messi, who fires a thumping strike from 25 yards out that narrowly misses hitting the target.
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6′Luis Suarez tangles with Godin as the two battle for the ball deep down the right wing, and Barcelona are awarded a free-kick in a dangerous position. It’s poorly hit by Lionel Messi, however, and the ball safely sails out of play for a goal-kick before it can find a green shirt in front of goal.
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4′Diego Godin goes close! Atletico win themselves a corner over on the right wing, and it’s swung into a dangerous position in the heart of the penalty area. Barcelona are unable to clear the danger and allow the ball to fall to Godin, who immediately unleashes a half-volleyed shot that flies just over the top of the crossbar.
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3′Early chance for Yannick Carrasco! Barcelona patiently pass the ball around on the halfway line before losing out to Antoine Griezmann. The Frenchman bursts forward and tees up Kevin Gameiro, who then spins and picks out Saul. The midfielder curls a lovely cross over to the far post and into the path of Carrasco, but he’s unable to make decent contact with the ball and sends it spinning away from goal.
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1′We’re off! Atletico get us underway, attacking from right to left.
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The two sides are making their way out onto the pitch, with just a few minutes to go until kick-off.
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Meanwhile, Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has made three alterations to the team that featured in their last outing, with Lucas Digne, Ivan Rakitic and Andre Gomes making way for Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta.
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Diego Simeone has decided to make two changes to the Atletico side that started the victory against Bayer Leverkusen during the week, with Jan Oblak and Diego Godin returning to the starting line-up to replace Miguel Moya and Jose Gimenez, respectively.
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Barcelona substitutes: Cillessen, Digne, Alba, Denis Suarez, Gomes, Rakitic, Alcacer.
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Barcelona XI (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Mathieu; Rafinha, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar.
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Atletico Madrid substitutes: Moya, Hernandez, Gimenez, Thomas, Gaitan, Correa, Torres.
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Atletico Madrid XI (4-4-2): Oblak; Vrsaljko, Savic, Godin, Luis; Saul, Koke, Gabi, Carrasco; Gameiro, Griezmann.
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There’s just over 15 minutes left to go until kick-off, so let’s have a look at how the two teams will be lining up this afternoon…
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Meetings between the two sides have always been close and nervy affairs, despite Barcelona enjoying the vast majority of victories in recent years. Luis Enrique’s men most recently knocked out Atletico in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey at the start of the month, whilst they have lost this fixture just once in the previous twelve meetings.
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A victory will move Atletico, who currently sit in fourth place, to within three points of Barcelona, but they will also currently be looking nervously over their shoulders. The gap between Los Rojiblancos and Real Sociedad is just one point after the fifth-place side beat Las Palmas, whilst Villarreal, who are in action against Real Madrid tonight, could also end up causing Atletico a few problems over the coming weeks.
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As for Atletico, an underwhelming start to 2017 has turned into a good run for the club from the capital, who have won each of their last three games after being held to frustrating draws by Athletic Club and Deportivo Alaves. They also find themselves in a commanding position on the European stage thanks to Tuesday’s 4-2 win away to Bayer Leverkusen, meaning that, unlike their opponents, they have a good chance of reaching the quarter-finals of the competition.
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Despite their recent struggles, a win for Barcelona will temporarily send them top of the table, albeit as a result of them having played one game more than Real Madrid. The current leaders stumbled in their last outing and suffered a disappointing loss to Valencia (only their second in the league all season) to make sure that the race for the title is in full swing once again.
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All is not well in the Barcelona camp at the moment. As good as eliminated from the Champions League after a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, they only just managed to beat Leganes in their last league game thanks to a late Lionel Messi penalty. As a result, they currently sit in third place heading into this afternoon’s big game, one point behind an ascendant Sevilla.
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Good afternoon and welcome to our live text commentary of today’s La Liga game between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.