That's it for today. Thanks for tuning in!
MATCH REPORT |
Barcelona drops two more points in the 2019/20 La Liga title race. Real Madrid has a one-point lead and a game in hand. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid stays third, two points above fourth-placed Sevilla, with five rounds to go in the Spanish top-division.
AND IT'S FULL TIME!!
90+4' FREE-KICK FOR BARCA! Ansu Fati won the set-piece and Lionel Messi stepped up to take it from close range. But the Atletico Madrid defence was alert and they avert the danger.
90' Four minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the second half! And Antoine Griezmann finally makes an entry into the field. Arturo Vidal is the player jogging out.
85' DOUBLE CHANGE FOR ATLETI AND A SINGLE SUBSTITUTION FOR BARCA! Thomas Lemar and Vitolo replace Yannick Carrasco and Angel Correa in the middle for Atletico Madrid, while Sergio Busquets makes way for Ansu Fati for Barcelona.
82' FREE-KICK FOR BARCELONA! Sergio Busquets steps up to take it instead of Lionel Messi. And his shot goes well above the goalpost.
77' SUBSTITUTION! Diego Costa is replaced by Alvaro Morata in the middle. A few moments ago, Costa received his sixth yellow card of the 2019-20 La Liga season.
72' ATLETICO MADRID CHANGE! Diego Simeone brings in Joao Felix for Marcos Llorente. CHANCE FOR BARCA! Lionel Messi attempts to find Luis Suarez, but puts far too much on the pass and the chance is gone.
67' SUBSTITUTION!! Barcelona manager Quique Setien makes the first change of the match. Sergi Roberto replaces Ivan Rakitic in the middle.
62' GOAAAAAALLLLL!!!! ATLETICO MADRID 2 - 2 BARCELONA!!!! SAUL SCORES YET ANOTHER PENALTY!! Yannick Carrasco won the penalty once again. He was tripped from behind by Nelson Semedo. It was the faintest of touches. Saul Niguez hit it in the same direction as his previous one. Ter Stegen got a hand to it but it wasn't enough.
59' YELLOW CARD! Barcelona skipper Lionel Messi goes into the referee's book for arguing too much for a decision that went against his side. FREE-KICK FOR ATLETI! And Barca regains possession.
55' WHAT A CHANCE FOR ATLETICO MADRID!!! DIEGO COSTA MISSES THE TARGET BY A WHISKER! Marcos Llorente came up with a brilliant move on the right flank. He then executed an inch-perfect cross into the box. But Costa's header goes wide off goal.
50' GOALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! LIONEL MESSI SCORESSSS!!! BARCELONA 2 - 1 ATLETICO MADRID! It was a high pressure situation and Messi goes for the panenka. What a wonderful finish! Barca gets back the lead.
48' PENALTY FOR BARCELONA!!!! Atletico Madrid defender Felipe brings down Barcelona's Nelson Semedo inside the box. VAR CHECK! The penalty stands but it looked like a very soft tackle.
AND THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
Forty-five minutes to go. Stay tuned!
AND IT'S HALF-TIME!
45+4' ONE FINAL CHANCE FOR ATLETI! Yannick Carrasco takes the ball forward and lets one fly from the just outside the box. The ball misses the target by a bit. Ricard Puig has played so well today. The youngster has constantly troubled the Atletico Madrid defence.
45' Four minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the first half! CORNER FOR BARCA! Messi will take it but the Atleti defence clears the ball away to avert the danger.
42' FREE-KICK FOR BARCELONA! Rough tackle from Atleti midfielder Thomas Partey here. Lionel Messi will take the set-piece. He fires the free kick on goal from a medium range, but sees his shot saved by the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak. It was a great save!
39' CHANCE FOR BARCA! Lionel Messi nearly creates a chance, but his attempt to pick out Luis Suarez with a through ball does not come off.
34' Santiago Arias tries to slide the ball through to an Atleti teammate but it's well blocked by a Barcelona defender. YELLOW CARD! Saul Niguez goes into the referee's book for a poor challenge on an opposition player.
29' FREE-KICK FOR ATLETICO MADRID!!! Arturo Vidal with a poor tackle there. The set-piece is not close to the box. Carrasco will take it and Saul receives the ball close to goal. He evades past an defender initially but is dispossessed later. He commits a foul in his attempt to regain possession.
24' Renan Lodi's pass is intercepted by Ter Stegen and Barcelona begins a counter attack. Lionel Messi closes in on goal but he is dispossessed on the way.
19' GOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!! BARCELONA 1 - 1 ATLETICO MADRID!!! SAUL NIGUEZ SCORES!!!!! Diego Costa handed the ball to Saul this time. The Spanish midfielder calmly found the back of the net with his left foot.
17' VAR CHECK!!! AND IT'S A PENALTY AGAIN!! Barcelona goalkeeper ter Stegen had come off his line before Costa touched the ball on the spot. YELLOW CARDS! Ter Stegen is booked by the referee first and then Gerard Pique receives a yellow card for his protests.
16' PENALTY SAVED!! Marc-Andre ter Stegen makes a fantastic save diving to his left. Diego Costa's miserable game continues. He's scored an own goal and now he's missed a penalty.
15' PENALTY FOR ATLETICO MADRID!!! Yannick Carrasco is at his best tonight. He almost scored there. But Arturo Vidal brought him down inside the box as he was cutting to his right.
11' GOAALLLLLLLL!!!!! BARCELONA 1 - 0 ATLETICO MADRID!!! IT'S AN OWN GOAL BY DIEGO COSTA!! Lionel Messi was taking a corner kick. Sergio Busquets was the first to reach the ball with his head. It wasn't going towards goal but Costa tucked it in with his leg.
7' FREE-KICK FOR ATLETICO MADRID! This is pretty close to the box. Yannick Carrasco won it and he'll take it himself. Poor defending from Barcelona. VERY CLOSE! The Belgian almost scored as the ball went past ter Stegen. Costa almost reached the ball. Was there a shove by Busquets on Costa? Goalkick given.
3' INJURY! Jordi Alba is on the ground. It was an Atletico Madrid move forward. Renan Lodi put in a dangerous cross into the box and there was a collision between an onrushing Marcos Llorente and Alba. The Barcelona defender, however, is back up.
AND THE MATCH IS UNDERWAY!
The team line-ups are out!
BARCELONA XI: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (G), Jordi Alba, Clement Lenglet, Gerard Pique, Nelson Semedo, Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, Lionel Messi (C), Luis Suarez, Ricard Puig.
COACH: Quique Setien.
ATLETICO MADRID XI: Jan Oblak (C)(G), Santiago Arias, Jose Gimenez, Felipe, Renan Lodi, Thomas Partey, Angel Correa, Saul Niguez, Yannick Carrasco, Marcos Llorente, Diego Costa.
COACH: Diego Simeone.
MATCH PREVIEW:
Barcelona coach Quique Setien has said he does not always see eye-to-eye with his squad as its La Liga title bid threatens to unravel following Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo.
Second-placed Barca trails Real Madrid by two points with six games to go and faces a gruelling match at home to third-placed Atletico Madrid on Tuesday which it needs to win to stay in close contention in the title race.
“It’s true that you often have arguments with players as you do in everyday life and that’s nothing new,” Setien told a virtual news conference on Monday.
“I was not an easy player to deal with and I understand this perfectly well. What we have to do is try to convince everyone that we have to defend a common idea,” added the former Atletico Madrid, Logrones and Racing Santander midfielder.
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Footage of the Celta match showed Lionel Messi ignoring instructions from assistant Eder Sarabia during the water break.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid continued its surge towards Champions League qualification last week by winning 1-0 at Levante to climb to third in La Liga.
Since matches restarted in Spain almost two weeks ago, Atletico has taken 10 points from a possible 12 and moved six points clear of fifth, as its top-four rivals have crumbled around it.
"The next game will be really tough, like every time we play in Barcelona. Now it is time to rest and prepare so that we arrive in the best possible shape," Atleti manager Diego Simeone said.
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