April 04, (THEWILL) — An 87th-minute goal from Robert Lewandowski gave Barcelona a victory over Atletico Madrid that stretched their advantage at the top of LaLiga to seven points above Real Madrid.
Giuliano Simeone gave the hosts the lead in the 39th minute, bringing down Clement Lenglet’s hoisted ball before finishing into the right corner.
The advantage lasted only three minutes, with Marcus Rashford squeezing a shot through Juan Musso’s legs after a quick exchange with Dani Olmo.
Nicolas Gonzalez was dismissed before the interval for a last-man lunge on Lamine Yamal, a decision confirmed by VAR review.
The technology intervened again within a minute of the restart, overturning a straight red card shown to Gerard Martin, much to Atletico’s frustration after the defender appeared to catch Thiago Almada’s ankle.
Musso made two saves to keep out Ferran Torres, including a point-blank stop, but the goalkeeper was unable to deal with Joao Cancelo’s late effort, parrying it onto Lewandowski’s shoulder and into the net.
Earlier in the match, Antoine Griezmann had a clear opportunity to put Atletico ahead but shot straight at Joan Garcia.
Barcelona’s win was aided by Real Madrid’s stoppage-time defeat to Mallorca earlier in the day.
The match also brought confirmation that Griezmann will leave Atletico Madrid for Orlando City at the end of the current season.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
