Atletico Madrid upset Barcelona to go top of La Liga

Madrid: Atletico Madrid ended the year as leader in La Liga after winning 2-1 away to FC Barcelona with virtually the last attack of the game.

Alexander Sorloth scored the winning goal for Atletico with a thumping left-foot finish in the sixth minute of injury time, after Atletico caught Barca flat-footed as the home side looked for the winning goal in a game it could have resolved long beforehand.

Pedri opened the scoring in the 30th minute after a run outside the Atletico area ended with Gavi giving him what looked like an accidental return pass to beat goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

In the second half, the midfielder set up Raphinha, who saw a lob hit the bar, just three minutes before Rodrigo De Paul levelled with his side’s first shot on target in the 60th minute.

Barca was pushing Atletico back, with coach Diego Simeone reverting to a five-man defence to try and keep Barca at bay, but it needed two brilliant saves from Oblak to deny Raphinha and Pedri to keep Atletico in the game before Sorloth stunned the home side.

The win enabled Atletico Madrid to overtake Barcelona on top of the standings with 41 points, three ahead of Barca with one game in hand.

Gorka Guruzeta and Alex Berenguer both scored as Athletic Bilbao fought back from a goal down to win 2-1 away to Osasuna to move to within just two points of Barca. IANS

Also Read: La Liga: Antoine Griezmann’s late brace leads Atletico Madrid to 4-3 comeback win over Sevilla

Also Watch: