After Real Madrid lost to Mallorca on Saturday, Barcelona took a big step towards winning La Liga with a 2-1 away win over Atlético Madrid.
Robert Lewandowski scored the winning goal in the 87th minute, shouldering the rebound from a save from Atletico’s goalkeeper. Barcelona now have a seven-point lead over Madrid, who lost 2-1 to Mallorca.
Fourth-placed Atlético, now 19 points behind the leaders, took the lead with Giuliano Simeone’s goal in the 39th minute at the Metropolitano Stadium. Marcus Rashford equalized in the 42nd minute and Atletico were one man down in first-half stoppage time when Nico Gonzlez was sent off for a second yellow card.
7 point lead
Lewandowski’s goal went into the net after the ball hit him on the shoulder and goalkeeper Juan Muso saved the shot.
The winning goal was almost a coincidence. Juu Cancelo’s cut-back move saw him brilliantly break through the left side of the area and evade the defenders, but his shot was deflected by keeper Juan Muso and bounced off Lewandowski’s shoulder. Atlético have lost their third straight game in all competitions, leaving them just one point behind third-placed Villarreal, who visit Girona on Monday.
