Barcelona beat Atletico to pull clear at top

Koke opener

Saul forced a flying save from Claudio Bravo early on with a curling shot towards the top corner, as Atletico took the game to Barcelona early on. Saul was having a good game and set up the opener for Koke. The midfielder crossed low into the penalty area and the Spanish international fired home his third goal of the season in the 10th minute.

28' |0-1| This is how @Koke6 thanked @SaulNiguez for the assist on Atlético's goal. Brilliant! #FCBAtleti #GoAtleti pic.twitter.com/EAmnKu5glG

— Atleti English (@atletienglish) January 30, 2016

Barcelona comeback

Augusto shot just wide for Atletico, but the tide was turning. Jordi Alba broke down the left and crossed low for Lionel Messi, who squeezed a low shot inside the near post after 34 minutes. It was the Argentine’s 12th goal of the season.

They doubled the lead soon after when Luis Suarez chased a ball over the top and beat Jan Oblak in the 38th, taking the Liga BBVA’s leading scorer onto 19 goals for the season.

Atletico down to 10 men

On the stroke of halftime, Atletico left back Luis Felipe was shown a red card after a studs up challenge on Messi and the visitors were left with a mountain to climb. But Atletico came out strongly after the break. Bravo made a stunning point blank save to deny Antoine Griezmann after 56 minutes as the visitors had the Nou Camp feeling uneasy.

Second red

Atletico defender Diego Godin flew in to challenge his Uruguayan compatriot Luis Suarez and picked up a second yellow card, leaving his side with nine men for the last 22 minutes. Not long after, the visitors lost midfielder Augusto to injury and Barca were looking comfortable. Oblak went up to join Atletico's attack at the end but Barca stood firm to take all three points.

Barcelona top

Luis Enrique's side pulled three points clear at the top of the standings and extended their unbeaten run in Liga BBVA to 14 games. Atletico, who were knocked out of the Copa del Rey during the week, were left second, three points behind but having played a game more than the leaders.