Barcelona win six-goal thriller against Atletico Madrid

Newest Barcelona signings play integral parts in win

Plenty of time had passed since Barcelona last played at the Camp Nou. To mark their return home, they faced Atletico Madrid who sat one point above the Catalans in the race to finish top four.

The occasion was marked with heavy anticipation as some of the club’s newest acquisitions were given the starting nod and Adama Traore made his presence felt as Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 4-2.

Barcelona started off the game rather well, going forward and utilizing Adama’s speed on the wing to cause the visitor’s problems. But it was Atletico who went ahead in the eighth minute as former Barcelona player Luis Suarez laced a lead pass toward the box for the oncoming Yannick Carrasco who took it first-time and fired past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Not the start the home side was looking for but they would answer just two minutes later. Jordi Alba, who shared some of the blame for the opener, waited for a long Dani Alvescross from the other wing. The left-back volleyed over Jan Oblak who could only watch as the ball slammed into the side of the net.

A remarkable goal from Alba, who celebrated profusely.

Barcelona put themselves ahead in the 21st thanks to Gavi. The young Spanish international rose above the Atletico Madrid defenders to head the ball and give his team the lead. Traore, who was causing the defense all sorts of fits, raced toward the touchline and delivered a superb pass to the 17-year-old.

In his first match back with Barcelona, the La Masia graduate was putting on a show.

Xavi’s side weren’t done scoring as Ronald Araujo got in on the action in the 43rd minute. Dani Alves sent in a cross from a set piece that was met by Gerard Pique. His header hit the crossbar, Ferran Torres chased the rebound but flailed at it and as the ball stayed in the air Araujo arrived, striking it well past Oblak. It wasn’t an easy finish by any stretch.

The Camp Nou was roaring as they witnessed possibly the best half of football from Barcelona this season. Everything seemed to be going according to plan after trailing early.

One of the issues for Barcelona this season has been their reaction after halftime. Far too often they’ve come out sluggish and taken their foot off the gas. Even that problem appeared to have been solved.

Alves, who seemingly has turned back the clock, capped off a nice play from Barcelona as he scored their fourth goal of the game. The Brazilian enjoyed that, celebrating with teammates on the pitch and on the bench. He took a little moment to soak it all in, much to the delight of the Catalan faithful.

Alves was all over this game but not necessarily in a good way. Twenty minutes after scoring, he was shown a red card after kicking Carrasco in the back of his leg on a play that had already been blown dead due to offside. The referee took a look at VAR and didn’t need long to make his decision.

Barcelona played the final 20 minutes or so down to 10 players.

It looked like Atletico Madrid were going to mount another comeback as Suarez had already cut the lead down to two in the 58th minute, before Alves was sent off.

Unlike in previous occasions, Barcelona wobbled but managed to maintain composure, not allowing Atletico many opportunities to find a third goal.

Sergiño Dest, who came in after Alves was expelled, played a good game given the circumstances and should see some playing time over the next couple of games. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also made his debut and held the ball well considering he found himself isolated as Barcelona defended deep.

Despite defensive errors and the Alves red card, Barcelona saw out the game and earned a very important victory, moving to 38 points, 2 above Atletico. It also meant a win against a big opponent. They hadn’t won against “big team” in a while and were on a three-game winless streak against Diego Simeone’s side.

In a way, it was a statement victory, made all the better as it was a comeback from being a goal down. There are plenty of issues for Xavi to try to fix. But ensuring the team reaches the Champions League next season is a goal they need to reach by any means necessary.

Up next for Barcelona is a road trip across town for the always heated Catalan Derby against Espanyol.