Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid 3-1 at home in a match corresponding to the fifteenth round of the Spanish League, held at the Spotify Camp Nou stadium. According to Argentine News Agency, the goals for the 'blaugrana' combination were scored by Raphinha in the 26th minute of the first half, and Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres in the 20th and 51st minutes of the second half, respectively. Meanwhile, Alex Baena opened the scoring for the 'Colchoneros' in the 19th minute of the initial stage. With this result, the team led by German coach Hansi Flick solidified their position at the top of the Spanish championship with 37 points, four ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who will visit Athletic Bilbao this Wednesday at 15:00. Meanwhile, the team led by Argentine coach Diego Simeone, which also includes Argentines Julian Alvarez, Nahuel Molina, Nicolas Gonzalez, Julian Simeone and Thiago Almada, fell to fourth place in the standings with 31 points. The first half was even in both play and result, as both teams went to the break 1-1. Alex Baena struck first for the visitors with a delicate touch as goalkeeper Joan García came out. However, shortly after, Brazilian winger Raphinha dribbled past the opposing goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, and coolly finished to level the match again. Then, Ferran Torres appeared alone inside the area and, after a great assist from Alejandro Baldé, sealed the deal. Julian Alvarez played the entire match, as did Nahuel Molina, while Nico Gonzalez came off at the start of the second half in place of Englishman Conor Gallagher. Giuliano Simeone was replaced by Alexander Sorloth at the 18th minute of the same period, and at the same time, Thiago Almada came on in place of Alex Baena. Barcelona had the chance to go into the lead at halftime, but Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty shot. Nevertheless, the Catalan outfit showed all their offensive power in the second half and extended the lead to two goals, scoring the definitive 3-1. First, Dani Olmo pounced on a series of rebounds and unleashed a left-footed shot that was out of reach of the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper.
