Madrid (Reuters)
Barcelona moved three points clear at the top of La Liga, with a 1-0 away win over Atletico Madrid, thanks to a first-half goal from Ousmane Dembele.
Real Madrid lost the traditional competitor and second place 2-1 at Villarreal Stadium on Saturday, giving Barcelona the opportunity to consolidate its lead after 16 rounds.
Barcelona dominated the game early on, pressing Atletico in their own half and forcing them to make mistakes.
The guests scored the only goal in the match 22 minutes after the start, when Dembele sent a shot from inside the penalty area into the lower right corner of the goal.
Two minutes later, Pedri succeeded in entering the area and was alone with goalkeeper Jan Oblak, but Nauel Molina blocked his shot at the last moment.
The owners of the land began to wake up at the end of the first half and took possession of the ball, so Barcelona resorted to defense.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen blocked a dangerous shot three minutes before stoppage time for the first half, when he pushed Antoine Griezmann’s shot into the top of the goal.
Two minutes after the start of stoppage time, Barcelona’s Ferran Torres and Atletico’s Stefan Savic were sent off after they clashed with hands.
Atletico almost snatched a point in the fourth minute of stoppage time, when Griezmann fired a shot that was saved from the line, as Barcelona grabbed the three points after a difficult victory.
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