Barcelona produced a dramatic late comeback to defeat Atletico Madrid 4-2 on Sunday, landing a significant blow in the La Liga title race.
Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres struck in stoppage time to overturn a two-goal deficit, ensuring Barcelona reclaimed the top spot after Real Madrid had temporarily taken the lead by beating Villarreal on Saturday.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid now sit level on 60 points, but the Catalan side holds a game in hand. Atletico, meanwhile, find themselves four points adrift after crumbling at home to Hansi Flick’s resurgent team, capping off a miserable week following their Champions League exit.
“The way we play, the confidence we have—it’s fantastic to see,” said Flick, whose side remains in contention for a treble. “We will give everything to win trophies, and today’s performance gives us even more belief.”
Barcelona had suffered late setbacks against Atletico twice this season, but this time, they turned the tables, extending their unbeaten run across all competitions to 18 games.
Atletico took a 2-0 lead through Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth, but Barcelona fought back with goals from Robert Lewandowski and Torres before delivering the final blow in stoppage time.
Flick had previously warned his squad about staying focused after conceding a stoppage-time goal in December that cost them the top spot in a 2-1 home defeat to Atletico. Barcelona also squandered a lead in their 4-4 Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Diego Simeone’s side in February.
Atletico Take Control, But Barcelona Hit Back
Barcelona nearly broke the deadlock before halftime when Pedri set up Lewandowski, whose fierce shot struck the crossbar. Moments later, Atletico capitalized on the let-off to open the scoring.
Antoine Griezmann orchestrated the move, threading a precise pass to Giuliano Simeone, who cut the ball back for Alvarez to finish—bringing the former Manchester City striker a moment of redemption after his controversial disallowed penalty in the Champions League defeat to Real Madrid.
Looking to freshen his squad following their midweek exertions, Simeone introduced Alexander Sorloth and Conor Gallagher. The duo combined for Atletico’s second goal, with Gallagher setting up Sorloth to slot home his 11th league goal of the season.
Barcelona were left frustrated when their appeals for a Rodrigo De Paul handball in the build-up were dismissed, but they quickly turned their anger into momentum.
Centre-back Inigo Martinez surged forward and delivered a cross into the box, where Lewandowski controlled and fired past Jan Oblak to ignite Barcelona’s comeback. Soon after, Raphinha provided a pinpoint cross for Torres to volley home the equalizer, sending Atletico into disarray.
With the hosts reeling, Barcelona capitalised fully in stoppage time. Yamal’s long-range strike took a crucial deflection to put the visitors ahead in the 92nd minute. Torres then put the result beyond doubt with his second of the night, completing an incredible turnaround that could prove pivotal in the title race.
Atletico’s Marcos Llorente acknowledged the impact of their recent Champions League defeat, saying, “We controlled the game well in the first half, but the 120 minutes against Real Madrid took a toll. In the end, we ran out of steam.”
