BARCELONA (REUTERS) - Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title after beating 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 in Saturday's (April 6) top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp as late strikes by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
Atletico began brightly but their gameplan went out of the window when Diego Costa was shown a straight red card in the 28th minute for a verbal tirade at referee Jesus Gil Manzano.
Atletico produced a gutsy second-half display, expertly shackling Barca, but the Catalans finally found a way past the visitors' outstanding goalkeeper Jan Oblak with a superb curling shot from Suarez in the 85th minute.
Moments later Messi sealed victory and quite probably the league title with an irresistibly cool finish into the net and Barca's fans jubilantly chanted "champions", crowing at their surely unassailable lead at the top with seven games remaining.
Atletico realistically needed to win at the Nou Camp for the first time since 2006 to stay in the title race and they played with ambition and intelligence in the opening stages, keeping the ball for long periods and depriving Barca of space.
But they were rocked by Costa's moment of madness which killed their early momentum and left them with little choice but to defend for the remaining hour of the game.
Striker Costa reacted angrily to not being awarded a foul after being tackled by Jordi Alba and gave a long verbal response to the referee, who to his disbelief pulled out a red card.
Costa had to be shepherded off the pitch by Barca's Gerard Pique as he struggled to control his temper while his team mates Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez earned bookings for venting their anger over the decision.
Atletico coped superbly with the setback and numerical disadvantage, controlling the space for the majority of the game.
Messi still carved his way through the middle of the pitch on two occasions, creating openings for Suarez and himself but both South American forwards were thwarted by the titanic presence of Oblak.
Atletico naturally had limited opportunities down the other end but were not far from finding a goal when Antoine Griezmann picked out Rodrigo from a free kick but the midfielder headed over the bar when Gimenez was stood behind him, in a better position.
Diego Simeone's side could not last the distance, however, and as their legs inevitably tired, Barca's attacking quality made the difference.
Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial both injured in Manchester United's Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain Man Utd's Martial, Lingard to miss Chelsea, Liverpool matches : The Standard
Football: Man United's Martial, Lingard to miss Chelsea
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane says Cristiano Ronaldo will be '150 per cent' fit for the Champions League final as he allays fears over ankle injury Cristiano Ronaldo was forced off with an ankle injury during Barcelona draw Real Madrid face Liverpool in the Champions League final in just three weeks
Cristiano Ronaldo: Juventus and Portugal forward downplays
Football: Guardiola predicts roller-coaster title run-in after Liverpool blip MANCHESTER, England (REUTERS) - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes critics have been too quick to write off his side's chances of defending the Premier League crown, and he expects more twists and turns in the title race.
Guardiola predicts roller-coaster title run-in after
winner | Malaysia News is a newsreader (RSS reader) providing a summary of headlines and latest news stories disseminated in the reliable news sources from Malaysia News. Malaysia News reads latest regional, national and local headlines in English and Melayu.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic fails to attend training for Paris Saint
Everton's hopes of finishing in seventh and a potential Europa League qualification spot suffered a blow as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday.Coming into the match on the back of four wins in
Crystal Palace 0-0 Everton: Toffees held to goalless draw
Manchester City will not face any action from the Football Association (FA) in relation to a video of a song sung on their team flight back from Brighton on Sunday.City secured back-to-back Premier
Champions League final: Madrid braces as 50,000 English fans
'Happy' Morata slays Malta. Spain striker Alvaro Morata (in white) playing the ball past Malta defender Zach Muscat to score during the Euro 2020 Group F victory on Tuesday. He also netted the
Latest EUROPEAN FOOTBALL | The Straits Times
PARIS (REUTERS) - Thierry Henry was suspended by Monaco on Thursday (Jan 24) and looked set to lose his job as coach after only three months in charge at the Ligue 1 club, with former manager
Suspended Thierry Henry set to lose Monaco job | football
LONDON (REUTERS) - Manchester United's Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba struck first-half goals to claim a 2-0 win that dumped FA Cup holders Chelsea out of the competition and secured a place in the
United dump holders Chelsea out of Cup to pile pressure on
Milan - Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus will play the pre-season International Champions Cup in Asia and not in the United States amid the Portugal star's rape investigation there, the New York Times
Ronaldo, Juve will not travel to US amid rape investigaton
Manchester City's hopes of retaining their Premier League title suffered a potentially grievous blow as struggling Newcastle United earned a remarkable 2-1 comeback win over the champions at St
Man City title hopes hit by shock defeat at Newcastle | The
watch sky sports premier league live stream
soccer tv live football streaming portugal
watch champions league live streaming crictime
watch english premier league live streaming hd
tv soccer live stream sky
watch champions league draw live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming rcti
watch coppa america live streaming quality
super soccer tv live streaming garuda select
watch soccer online free live streaming hd
watch soccer online free streaming live in english
watch coppa america live streaming bola
watch soccer online free streaming live app
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming free online
watch soccer online free live streaming livetv ru
watch premier league live streaming live
watch coppa america live streaming twitch
watch premier league darts live stream
watch champions league live streaming now free
watch champions league semi final draw live stream
watch indian premier league live stream online
watch usa soccer live stream
watch soccer aid live stream online
watch premier league games live stream
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming youtube
watch coppa america live streaming manchester united
watch coppa america live streaming juventus vs manchester united
watch soccer live stream links
watch soccer games online free streaming live
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online reddit
watch the premier league live stream
watch premier league net live manchester united stream channel
watch champions league live streaming live free
watch soccer aid live stream
watch arsenal southampton premier league live stream
watch soccer am online live streaming
watch premier league live streaming juventus vs manchester united
live ipl live streaming- watch indian premier league 2013 online
watch soccer online free streaming live uk
watch soccer online free streaming live cricfree
watch premier league live streaming video
watch iceland soccer live stream
watch soccer live streaming kenya vs ethiopia
watch soccer online free streaming live no registration
watch barclays premier league online live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming dailymotion
watch coppa america live streaming xbox one
watch soccer live streaming xfinity
watch champions league live streaming zee tv
watch coppa america live streaming live free
watch coppa america live streaming sub eng
watch champions league live streaming cricfree
watch champions league live streaming jamaica
watch premier league net live stream channel
watch soccer live stream app
watch soccer online free streaming live liverpool
watch us soccer live stream
watch english premier league live streaming free
watch coppa america live streaming match
watch premier league live streaming qatar
watch coppa america live streaming app
watch coppa america live streaming qatar
watch coppa america live streaming india
how to watch soccer live streaming free
watch coppa america live streaming english
watch champions league live streaming zee5
watch english premier league live streaming online
watch coppa america live streaming putlockers
watch the champions league live stream
watch soccer live streaming xbox
watch live stream soccer games online free
watch champions league simulcast live stream
watch premier league live stream reddit
watch premier league live streaming zimbabwe
watch live premier league football streaming online for free iraqgoals
watch soccer live streaming juventus
watch soccer online free streaming live manchester united
watch coppa america live streaming xbox
watch usa soccer live stream online
watch coppa america live streaming game
watch coppa america live streaming vf
watch coppa america live streaming bein sport
watch live streaming of premier league football
free live football streams watch live streaming tv premier league
watch champions league live streaming vf
watch coppa america live streaming in india
#Vip45 #goal #petercrouch #freekick #sumbertv #england #panini #klopp #roadtrip #goodday #oudmehta #manchestercity #mancity #cristianoronaldo #bayervshoffenheim #vip #frasitrap #soccermemes #messi #kroenkeout #portsmouthfc #fut #24x7 #coys #rockstar #commentimemorabili #vandijk #bayernmunich #streamingbolaid #coyg #trollfootball #Sunday #GarageCafeDxb #adidasslipon #hotcoffee #realmadrid #girlsniteout #romania #JUVENTUS #livesports #thebeatles #football #mensnightout #liverpoolfc #soccer #gym #pagani #premierleague #realmadrid #firmino #seriea #soccer #zinedinezidane #championship #henderson #footballdubai #elcasico #conference #ignoranza #bundesliga #manchesterunited #commento #mane
No comments:
Post a Comment