Atletico Madrid came into the match with just two wins in their last six league games but following their midweek UEFA Champions League last-16 triumph over Inter Milan, the confidence was clear to see in Diego Simeone’s players as they immediately went to attack the Barca box.
The high-intensity attacking play almost paid dividends for Atleti as the hosts won the ball inside Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s box but Pablo Barrios saw his shot curl inches wide.
Xavi’s Barcelona side were also successful in midweek against Italian opposition in the Champions League but a lack of intensity against Atleti saw the Catalan outfit second best to everything in the opening half hour. However, the Blaugrana managed to sneak a one-goal lead heading into the break.
Ilkay Gundogan picked out Robert Lewandowski in the box and the Polish striker pulled the ball back to Joao Felix, who coolly slotted in against his parent club.
It was almost the perfect smash-and-grab half for Xavi but the Barca boss was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in quick succession for showing dissent towards the referee.
Simeone turned to his bench to switch up his attackers, introducing Antoine Griezmann and Memphis Depay, but before they could even have an impact, Barca doubled their lead within two minutes of the restart.
Lewandowski was picked out in the box by Raphinha, and despite his first touch taking him away from goal, his goalscoring prowess meant he was still able to bury his finish into the bottom corner despite the tight angle.
The second goal proved to be a wake-up call for Atleti as they almost immediately responded through Marcos Llorente’s volley from the edge of the box but Ter Stegen made a strong save and quickly got back up off the ground to smother Memphis’ shot on the rebound.
However, despite Atleti’s resurgence, the visitors rounded off the contest with a third goal. Lewandowski was involved once again with his second assist of the night as his cross into the box was powered home by a towering Fermin Lopez header.
In the end, the third goal was a deadly blow for Simeone’s side, who failed to recover or even threaten a comeback as they were reduced to 10 men in stoppage time after Nahuel Molina brought Vitor Roque down when through on goal.
Victory sees Barcelona rise to second place going into the international break following Girona’s loss to Getafe, and despite a title tilt looking unlikely, the Catalans are eight points behind league leaders Real Madrid with an El Clasico fixture coming up in April.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
