Barcelona earned their most important win of the season on Sunday, scoring three goals in the first half to beat top-four contenders Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou, 4-2. With newcomers Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang seeing the pitch, four different players scored for Xavi's men as they handled an inconsistent Atleti defense to jump them for fourth place in La Liga. Barca had to play the final 21 minutes without veteran Dani Alves, who followed up an assist and a goal with a silly red card for a dangerous challenge on Yannick Carrasco.
Barca had four shots on goal the entire game and finished all of them, getting two from the defense as Jordi Alba and Ronald Araujo found the net.
Atleti finished with more shots than their opponents but struggled to create in the second half, often lacking precision to create a chance. Striker Luis Suarez was able to score against his former club to make it 4-2, but Los Colchoneros would not get any closer despite the one-man advantage.
Here are three takeaways from the match:
Alba's goal, which was an equalizer in the 10th minute, may end up being the goal of the season in La Liga. Dani Alves assisted it, lifting a signature curling cross to the far side of the box where his fellow fullback was waiting. A strike from that spot didn't feel only ambitious, it seemed rather audacious, but Alba pulled the trigger anyway and produced this bit of magic:
That goal sent the Camp Nou into a frenzy, and it shifted momentum back to Barca, equalizing just two minutes after Atleti's opener. From there, Barca would score three more consecutive goals with Alba's golazo being the momentum-grabbing moment.
Two new Barcelona additions made their debuts Sunday, and both had positive displays. Adama was the one that stole the show though, recording an assist and driving Atleti's defense wild at times. His speed was able to see him draw fouls and get to the endline time and time again. He ended up playing 61 minutes, competed over 80 percent of his passes and had the highest xA with 0.12.
Here's his assist, lofting a great cross to 17-year-old Gavi:
Aubameyang came off the bench and played 29 minutes. He was only able to get one shot, but he did look strong in the runs that he made, and he also played Ferran through with a delightful one-touch ball over the top. He looked fit and comfortable, and those are both encouraging signs for a team that needs depth in attack.
Don't look now, but that is seven unbeaten for Barca in the league. They haven't been great, but they've been consistently solid. This win may end up being the turning point for them, however, as there was just something different. There was a distinct feel, a renewed confidence, brought on by the performances of the newcomers. There are some tricky matches to come, including Europa League play against Napoli, but the rest of the month will tell us a couple things -- whether they are truly top-four contenders and if they have what it takes to make a deep run in Europe.
Here's their schedule for the rest of the month.
Date: Sunday, Feb. 6 | Time: 10:15 a.m. ET
Location: Camp Nou - Barcelona, Spain
TV: None | Live stream: ESPN+
Odds: Barca +135; Draw +230; Atletico +215 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Not long left, and Barca are in a good spot despite being down a man. Atleti are having trouble getting the ball out wide, and the passing centrally is quite poor. Atleti need a goal here in the next 10 minutes to have a chance.
Dani Alves sees red! A straight red card for the Brazilian after a nasty cleat to Carrasco's calf. VAR sees it turned into a red, and now Dest is getting ready to come on.
New Barca signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang comes on for Adama and gets a half an hour.
Two goals in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, with Barca's 4-1 lead now at 4-2 after Luis Suarez's goal. It feels like there are more goals in this one as Atleti looks to get back into it and cut the lead to one. Momentum on Atleti's side as they've actually looked pretty sharp.
