Just as it looked like Atletico Madrid and Barcelona would share a point each, Argentine hit man Lionel Messi continued his love affair with the Vicente Calderon as he came up with a late goal to salvage all three points for the Catalan giants.
Barcelona, with this victory, move temporarily into the 1st place with Real set to play Villarreal later in the day. Rafinha opened the scoring for Barcelona in the second half after an eventful first half ended in a 0-0 score line. Diego Godin came up with the equaliser but Barcelona managed to dominate the proceedings in the second half to come up with a late winner. Enrique’s side have played two games more than their Madrid rivals but will now know that they have a decent chance of getting back into the frame of the things in the Primera Division in Spain.
Here are the player ratings for Enrique’s side for this game:
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (7):
Was confident all night in his box as he showed great presence of mind throughout the game to keep Atleti away from danger.
Jeremy Mathieu (6):
A solid performance at the back as he dealt with the likes of Griezmann and Carrasco well for most of the game.
Samuel Umtiti (6):
The Frenchman was also put in a decent performance at the back for Barca as he made a number of crucial interceptions to keep his side in the game.
Gerard Pique (5):
Unusually caught out of position on numerous occasions and also gifted away the ball a number of times on an unusual night for the Spaniard.
Sergi Roberto (6):
Was under pressure throughout the night but held his nerve to keep Atelti down to just a goal and give his side all three points.
Sergio Busquets (5):
Should have done better to stop Godin’s goal and was also sloppy in possession in the middle of the park, inviting the hosts in an attack on numerous occasions.
Andres Iniesta (5):
Started the game brightly but slowly faded away as he failed to unlock the Atleti defence before being subbed off at the hour mark.
Rafinha (6):
A below par performance up until he nicked the goal with a clever finish but looked a different player ever since, making Atleti nervous every time in possession.
Lionel Messi (7):
Deserves nothing more than a 3 as he hardly created a chance all night. However, came up with the all-important goal on the night to give Barcelona all three points from this crunch game.
Luis Suarez (7):
Easily the best player for Barcelona, Suarez, was a constant menace for Atleti at the back as he played a role in both the Barcelona goals. He came close to scoring a couple of timings and would have enjoyed this victory.
Neymar Jr (7):
Though could not create or finish chances, Neymar, frustrated the Atletico backline with his trickery and got the better of Vrsaljko on the left flank on a decent night for the Brazilian.
Subs:
Lucas Digne (6):
Came in to replace the injured Mathieu and hardly put a foot wrong to help his side to victory.
Andre Gomes (6):
Went about with his work well late in the game as he managed to keep Atelti honest even in the dying minutes of the game.
Ivan Rakitic (5):
A decent performance but came in too late into the game to have kind of an effect.