News
JUE 20.03.2025
The duel between Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona in Matchday 28 was always expected to be a thriller, and it delivered. After these two sides had played out two incredible spectacles already this season, a 2-1 come-from-behind league win by Atleti in Matchday 18 and a 4-4 Copa del Rey semi-final first leg draw, more drama was expected at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Sunday night, and the game lived up to the hype.
FC Barcelona won the match 4-2, and it was a historic victory. They became the first ever team to win a LALIGA EA SPORTS game against Diego Simeone’s Atlético de Madrid after trailing by two goals. Not since 2007, a few years before Simeone’s arrival in the Atleti dugout in 2011, had Los Colchoneros lost a league game after taking a two-goal lead. That’s a stat which proves that this Barça side is different.
Even when substitute Alexander Sørloth struck to add to Julián Álvarez’s goal and make it 2-0 to the home team in the 70th minute, also making it six consecutive games in which the Norwegian had scored against FC Barcelona, Hansi Flick’s men didn’t give up. Veteran striker Robert Lewandowski almost immediately pulled one back with a crisp finish in the 72nd minute, before Ferran Torres headed in a Raphinha cross in the 78th minute.
Both teams pushed for the three points, in what was a highly entertaining finish, and it was FC Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal who broke the deadlock at the beginning of stoppage time, with his long-range strike taking a deflection and surprising Jan Oblak. When Ferran Torres added a fourth Barça goal even deeper into stoppage time, that just served to underline the impressive comeback from a team that has already scored 132 total goals this season, 75 of them in LALIGA EA SPORTS.
These three valuable points mean FC Barcelona remain top of the table heading into the March international break, sitting level on 60 points with second-placed Real Madrid, although the Catalan outfit have played one game less. Atlético de Madrid, on 56 points, can’t be ruled out yet, but Barça have taken a major step towards what would be their 28th championships with Sunday night’s victory, especially as they’ve also secured the head-to-head tiebreaker should they end up level on points with Atlético de Madrid.
Lewandowski, who is the top scorer of LALIGA EA SPORTS, just as he was when FC Barcelona won the title in 2022/23, spoke about the importance of the comeback after the match. “In football, the most important isn’t how you start but how you finish,” the Polish forward stated. “We’re very proud of this comeback.”
Coach Hansi Flick echoed that, stating: “We believed that we could change the result. To win 4-2 here is really huge. It shows the team really believes in what they do, in their strengths. I’m proud of this team. I think you can see the mentality is really good, and they never give up.”
FC Barcelona remain undefeated in 2025, having won 15 and drawn three of their 18 matches so far this calendar year. Now, they have the March international break to refocus ahead of the final stretch of the season. Having already won the Spanish Super Cup, and with the club still alive in three more competitions, 2024/25 could prove to be a very special season for Barça.
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