Barcelona Leave Real Madrid and Get Closer to the Champions After Beating Atletico Madrid

Barcelona began to leave nearest rival Real Madrid after defeating hosts Atletico Madrid in a Spanish LaLiga match at the Metropolitano Stadium, Sunday, April 5, 2026 early morning WIB. The victory made Barca closer to retaining the league title.

Barca won a crucial victory because Atletico could actually hinder their pace towards the championship. However, Barca was able to overcome the pressure and even get three points at home.

This victory is very important because Barca is firmly at the top of the standings. With 76 points, they have left Madrid who were surprisingly forced to surrender 2-1 when facing Mallorca. Now, Barca is seven points ahead of Madrid when the competition leaves eight matches. This makes Lamine Yamal et al closer to the title.

However, coach Hansi Flick stated that Barca was still far from having the opportunity to become champions. With eight matches remaining, anything can still happen between the two teams. Moreover, Barca will still meet Madrid in El Clasico at Camp Nou.

"We still have eight more games. For me we have not achieved anything. So we have to stay focused," said Flick as quoted by france24.

However, he was satisfied with this victory. However, Flick stated that the competition was not over. "The players are happy [with this victory]. It's a very important point... but everyone knows it's not over yet," he said again.

After the duel in the domestic competition, Barca again met Atletico in the Champions League quarter-finals. In the first match presented this midweek or midweek, Barca got the opportunity to act as the host. Furthermore, they visited Atletico's headquarters again to play the second match.

With the second meeting between the two teams in the Champions League, both Atletico and Barca rotated players. Atletico coach Diego Simeone even overhauled almost the entire starting line up. Striker Julian Alvarez and midfielder Ademola Lookman were on the bench.

In contrast, striker Antoine Griezmann, who has just announced that he will leave Atletico to play in the United States after the competition ends, is a starter. Simeone also did not force injured goalkeeper Jan Oblak to stand under the crossbar. His position was replaced by Jean Musso.

Meanwhile, Flick did not bring down Robert Lewandowski who failed to lead Poland to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. However, Dani Olmo who instead played as a 'false nine' replaced Lewandowski's position. He got support from Yamal along with Marcus Rashford who replaced the injured Raphinha when he was playing for Brazil in a friendly match.

Rashford also started the attack on Atletico's goal. Only the free kick from the Manchester United loan player could still be secured by Musso.

Then it was Atletico's turn to put pressure. Griezmann actually had a chance to beat defender Gerard Martin. However, he failed to execute the opportunity he got because the ex-France national team player's shot could be saved by goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

The match was getting more intense as both teams took turns to pressure. Barca got an opportunity through Fermin Lopez's pass to Rashford who failed to convert into a goal. Likewise, Yamal's kick still hit the crossbar.

When under pressure, Atletico managed to take advantage of the gap to score a goal. Giuliano Simeone midfielder, who is none other than the coach's son, successfully broke the deadlock in the 39th minute. The goal was created when he ran through the Barca defense to greet Clement Lenglet's pass and fired a shot that defeated Garcia.

However, the 1-0 advantage of the hosts did not last long. Only three minutes later, Barca was able to equalize the score when Rashford, through a slick one-two with Olmo, successfully broke into the Atletico goal. The score changed to 1-1.

In a draw, Atletico, who returned to pressure, lost a player when entering the first half injury time. Midfielder Nico Gonzalez received a red card after making a hard foul against Yamal who ran to greet the ball. For the offense, the referee issued a yellow card followed by a red card for Gonzalez.

Atletico had to work hard when entering the second half. The reason is that with 10 players, they face an opponent who plays offensively. Barca itself also almost lost a player when Martin committed a foul against Thiago Almada. The referee initially gave a red card to the defender.

However, after reviewing it through VAR, the referee judged Martin's actions not to be a potential hard foul so he only got a yellow card. The referee's decision made the Los Rojiblancos players disappointed. Coach Simeone also showed disappointment over the decision.

Barca then returned to pressure. Substitute Ferran Torres was recorded twice threatening Musso's goalkeeper. But he failed to maximize the opportunity.

After many failed attempts, Barca finally broke the deadlock when Lewandowski successfully conquered Musso towards the end of the match. It started with the action of defender Joao Cancelo who penetrated into the penalty box and then fired a shot on goal. However, his efforts could be blocked by Musso.

Only the rebound and hit Lewandowski's shoulder, which then slid into the goal without being saved by Musso.

The unexpected goal in the 87th minute gave Barca a 2-1 lead. The score remained until the end of the match. Musso admitted he was disappointed with the defeat because the team played better, especially in the first half.

"We played very well in the first half before the red card punished us. It was obviously difficult when we had to lose a player," said Musso.

"In my opinion, their players should also get a red card. The referee also witnessed the incident directly. But his decision actually didn't make us lose confidence. If only the match had remained 11 against 11, we would have been more confident," he said.

The defeat made Atletico fail to improve their ranking. Atletico, who has 57 points, remains in the Champions League zone by occupying the fourth position.