Barcelona effectively wrapped up their eighth La Liga title in 11 seasons with a 2-0 victory over ten-men Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou on Saturday night.
Although the title has not been mathematically secured, Barca now hold an 11-point lead over their nearest challengers with just seven games remaining – and that gap is really worth 12 points as the leaders also hold the head-to-head advantage over second-placed Atletico – so it would take a freak sequence of results to stop them.
There were plenty of talking points to emerge from the action as Atletico’s ten men held firm for a long time before eventually being worn down – let’s review the best of the action.
SIMEONE GOES FOR IT DESPITE COSTA DISMISSAL
Gerard Pique and Diego Costa
Visiting boss Diego Simeone pledged before the game that he would take an attacking approach, knowing that only a victory would be good enough to keep his team’s realistic title hopes alive.
And he was true to his word, with Atletico regularly pushing forward in the opening stages and enjoying several extended spells of possession.
Even when Diego Costa was dramatically sent off for dissent after half an hour, Simeone still would not yield to the temptation to adopt a more cautious approach.
Instead of shoring up his defence and sitting back, he took off right-back Santiago Arias and introduced another forward, Angel Correa, with midfielder Thomas Partey dropping back into defence as the team adopted a 4-3-2 shape.
It was inevitable that Atletico would have a lot less of the ball after going down to ten men, but they still showed attacking endeavour whenever the opportunity arose.
And Simeone made an even bolder decision after an hour, bringing on yet another forward as Alvaro Morata replaced left-back Filipe Luis and the team moving to a 4-2-3 formation.
OBLAK SHINES IN DEFEAT
Jan Oblak denies Luis Suarez
There’s no doubt, though, that Costa’s red card was a key moment in the match and Simeone must be furious with his striker for getting himself sent off by launching into an unnecessary foul-mouthed tirade after an innocuous free-kick decision in a harmless midfield position.
With Barca able to use their man’s advantage to dominate possession, the second half in particular was an almost constant tide of pressure towards the Atletico goal, with the visitors only surviving as long as they did thanks to goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who underlined his reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in the world with a fabulous display.
The Slovenian shot-stopper had already made his first great save before Costa’s dismissal, diving low to his right and using a strong hand to repel a fierce low strike from Philippe Coutinho after the Brazilian ran onto a lay-off from Luis Suarez to shoot powerfully from 15 yards.
Plenty more saves followed from Oblak in the second half, and two in particular deserve mention: firstly as he flung himself sharply at Suarez’s feet to keep out a powerful drive, and then a cat-like pounce to his left to claw away a low effort from Messi which seemed destined for the bottom right corner.
SUAREZ AND MESSI DO IT AGAIN
Lionel Messi celebrates
Atletico’s determined resistance – or, to be more precise, Oblak’s – was finally broken by the most predictable of sources: Suarez and Messi. It would take something special to beat Oblak…and the South American strike duo certainly produced it.
With just five minutes remaining, Suarez struck first. Receiving the ball 25 yards from goal, he set up a shot on his right foot and hit it perfectly, arrowing the ball with power and perfect accuracy low and hard into the bottom right corner, hitting the inside of the post on its way in.
Messi duly followed course a minute later, racing from the halfway line and surging into the penalty area, where he withstood a challenge from Jose Maria Gimenez and ignored the attentions of Diego Godin to stroke a passed finish into the corner with ridiculously nonchalant ease.
They were both breathtaking goals, and for the second consecutive game Suarez and Messi rescued Barca with late goals having done exactly the same in Tuesday’s stunning draw at Villarreal.
And the victory also provided them with a timely psychological boost ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg trip to Manchester United…Chris Smalling, watch out.
