Barcelona 1-2 Atletico Madrid: 5 Talking Points as Simeone's men steal three points away from the Catalan giants | La Liga 2024-25

Alexander Sorloth's 96th-minute goal completed a stunning comeback for Atletico Madrid as they beat Barcelona 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday, December 21.

Following their loss to CD Leganes last time around, La Blaugrana made three changes. Lamine Yamal's injury meant Fermin Lopez came in, while Gavi and Pau Cubarsi replaced Dani Olmo and Eric Garcia.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, headed into the game in an impressive run of form, winning 11 straight. They made a single alteration from the side that beat Getafe 1-0, with Conor Gallagher replacing Samuel Lino.

It was all Barcelona in the first half, as they completely dominated the game, rarely allowing the visitors to get forward and pose any threats. Their pressure paid dividends in the 30th minute as Pedri broke the deadlock. A splendid exchange between him and Gavi saw the former receive the ball and find the bottom corner to make it 1-0.

The second half was more of the same as the hosts exerted their control over the affair. Los Rojiblancos managed to pull them back level in the 60th minute. Following a cross from the left half cleared by Marc Casado, Rodrigo de Paul launched a well-placed effort beyond the reach of Inaki Pena, levelling the tie.

Simeone's side then showed their defensive stability, not conceding despite Barcelona enjoying the lion's share of the possession and opportunities. The game was turned on its head in the final minute of action as two substitutes combined to give Atletico Madrid the lead. Nahuel Molina sent in a ball from the right and Alexander Sorloth's great finish made it 2-1.

It was a classic performance from Atletico to rob Barcelona of all three points. The fixture could prove to be critical in the title race as La Blaugrana slips away from the top spot, completely losing their advantage following a strong start to the campaign. Here are five talking points:

#5. Are Barcelona too reliant on Lamine Yamal?

Lamine Yamal will be out of action for a month after suffering an ankle injury. Raphinha returned to his natural right-wing spot while Fermin Lopez joined the front three. While the sides were dominant throughout the fixture, they seemed to lack the finishing edge, which proved costly.

#4. A shining performance from Pedri

Despite the loss, Pedri certainly had a game to remember. Alongside the goal, his creativity, vision and energy in the midfield made him a constant thorn in Atletico's side. He finished the game with four chances created, 12 passes into the final third and eight accurate long balls and was certainly unlucky to be on the losing side.

#3. A classic Simeone performance - Can they go all the way?

Atletico Madrid have been on fire for the previous two months. Los Rojiblancos have notched 12 wins on the trot across all competitions and are guaranteed to be top of La Liga heading into Christmas. With Barcelona and Real Madrid looking inconsistent, they could lift La Liga for the first time since 2021.

#2. A wasteful performance causes concern for the hosts

Barcelona will certainly rue some of their missed chances tonight as it came back to bite them. The hosts had 19 shots (seven on target), missed six big chances and accrued an xG of 2.54. However, poor finishing combined with some brilliant work from Jan Oblak meant they scored just once.

#1. The title race could go down to the wire

The last two seasons have seen Real Madrid and Barcelona take home the trophy fairly comfortably. However, heading into the 2024-25 campaign's midpoint, it remains unclear who has the edge. With a win tomorrow, Los Blancos could jump their arch-rivals and move into second but will still be a point behind their neighbours. It remains to be seen which team will win the title.