Substitute Alexander Sorloth scored an injury-time winner as Atletico Madrid battled back against Barcelona to replace them at the top of La Liga.
Pedri scored the scoring for Barcelona in the 30th minute, connecting up with fellow Spain midfielder Gavi before sending a low strike past Jan Oblak.
Despite their superiority, the home team was unable to hold on, as Rodrigo De Paul scored the equalizer on the hour mark after jumping on a Marc Casado error.
In the sixth minute of injury time, Sorloth headed in Nahuel Molina’s cross to give Atletico their 12th consecutive victory across all competitions, leaving Barcelona to lament more wasted opportunities.
With the win, Atletico will finish 2024 as Spain’s top team, three points ahead of Barcelona, who have played more games.
Should Real Madrid defeat Sevilla on Sunday, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona team might drop to third place.
In early November, Barcelona had a 10-point advantage over Atletico, but Atletico has surpassed their opponents due to a bad run of play and a run of victories for Diego Simeone’s team.
Atletico knew that a win would put them at the top of La Liga going into 2025, thus they came to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis tied with their hosts on points.
Further
For the majority of the evening, they were in second place and had to withstand a barrage of Barcelona attacks.
When he was unmarked and on the receiving end of a Raphinha cross in the 25th minute, Gavi had a close-range opportunity to put the home team ahead, but he missed.
But soon after, the Spain midfielder redeemed himself by assisting Pedri with his first goal with a deft backheel.
Barcelona proceeded to dominate in the second half while Flick, who was watching from the stands, served the second of a two-game touchline ban.
Raphinha missed when one-on-one with the goalie, Pedri smashed an attempt just over, and Fermin Lopez was stopped by a strong save from Oblak. Raphinha also shook the crossbar with a bold lob.
De Paul, however, latched on to Casado’s unsuccessful backheel clearance and put the ball in the bottom corner, leaving the hosts to lament their wasted opportunities.
Additionally, Sorloth’s late winner upset Barcelona, who have now lost their past three home league games, and Atletico’s celebrations lasted as the final whistle blew.
