Barcelona 2 Atletico Madrid 0: Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez strike late but it’s Diego Costa who costs Atleti
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi struck late on to help Barcelona overcome 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 at the Camp Nou to edge closer to retaining their Liga title.
The Uruguayan struck a stunning effort in off the post with five minutes to go before Messi sealed the points with a brilliant solo goal as Barca moved 11 points clear at the top of LaLiga with seven games remaining.
The Rojiblancos are renowned for their defensive style of play but after some early possession from the hosts, they had a decent chance to go ahead with Costa heading over from close range.
Barcelona were unfortunate not to take the lead two minutes later when Lionel Messi played an incredible pass into the feet of Jordi Alba, who beat Jan Oblak with a delicate lob but not the post, as it bounced off the woodwork and Atletico cleared.
Philippe Coutinho had a great chance to break the deadlock when he was played in by Messi but his low effort was palmed away by the magnificent Oblak.
Atletico were more than just holding their own; they were making Barca work for possession. But just before the half-hour mark, they found themselves down to 10 men.
Costa was left fuming after referee Jesus Gil Manzano failed to play advantage and after having more than a few words to say, the Spanish official pulled out the red card to give the Brazilian-born striker his marching orders.
The former Chelsea man refused to leave the pitch and had to be escorted off by former Spain team-mate Gerard Pique.
If anything, the incident appear to spur on Atletico as they settled into a compact defensive shape.
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After being frustrated in the first half, Barcelona really cranked up the pressure after the break and only a string of fine saves from Oblak denied first Suarez and then Messi from opening the scoring.
But with five minutes to go, Suarez found half a yard of space on the edge of the area and curled into the far corner off the post. In truth, that was the only way Barca were going to beat Oblak - and they finally had.
Atletico's resistance was finally broken and so was their spirit when Messi danced around four defenders before slotting nonchalantly into the opposite corner. It was a fine goal that we've come to expect to demonstrate exactly why Barcelona are likely to become champions once again.
Line-ups, match highlights and reaction
Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Arthur; Messi, Suarez, Coutinho
Atletico XI: Oblak; Arias, Giminez, Godin, Filipe Luis; Koke, Thomas, Rodrigo, Saul; Diego Costa, Griezmann
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2 mins: This has been a promisingly fast start from Barcelona!
Ben Hayward, at Camp Nou: "Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde said in his pre-match press conference that he wanted the fans to focus on supporting the team and not on booing Antoine Griezmann after the French forward turned the club down last summer. But the teams were read out a few moments ago and sure enough, there were loud whistles for the Atletico Madrid forward."
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We're under way at Camp Nou!
Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Ivan Rakitic are all restored to the Barcelona XI for tonight’s top-of-the-table clash at home to Atletico Madrid.
The Argentine came off the bench in the second half and scored a free-kick to help Ernesto Valverde’s side earn a 4-4 draw at Villarreal on Tuesday night, with Rakitic also introduced from the bench at the Estadio de la Ceramica.
The Croatian midfielder and Pique were left out to avoid the risk of a suspension, with both players just one booking away from a ban which would have seen them miss tonight’s game at Camp Nou.
Pique had previously played every minute in La Liga this season and was badly missed as Barca conceded four times, with Samuel Umtiti looking particularly rusty after his recent layoff with a knee problem.
The Catalan centre-back partners Clement Lenglet tonight, with Philippe Coutinho handed another chance in attack in the absence of Ousmane Dembele, who is back in training but not quite ready to return from injury.
Malcom will have to wait for his opportunity from the bench, while Arturo Vidal misses out through suspension.
For Atletico, Diego Costa is fit again after a hamstring problem and he starts in attack alongside Antoine Griezmann, with Alvaro Morata on the bench following after recovering from an ankle problem picked up against Girona on Tuesday.
Colombian international Santiago Arias is preferred to Juanfran at right-back.
Here are the teams for tonight's game...
Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Arthur; Messi, Suarez, Coutinho
Atletico XI: Oblak; Arias, Giminez, Godin, Filipe Luis; Koke, Thomas, Rodrigo, Saul; Diego Costa, Griezmann
Griezman | The decision: Part deux?
Our Spanish correspondent Ben Hayward analyses Antone Griezmann's future...
It is that time of year again. Ahead of Atletico’s trip to Barcelona in La Liga tonight, Antoine Griezmann is being linked again with a summer switch to the Catalan club. What is the French for déjà vu?
If it feels like we have been here before, it is because we have. A year ago, the Atleti attacker looked set for a move to Camp Nou and many Catalan journalists claimed it was a done deal. Barca wanted Griezmann; and he wanted them.
Or so it seemed. At some point, that was probably true and an agreement with Atletico saw the French forward's release clause drop to €100 million. In an inflated market, it was brilliant business. But behind the scenes, things were not as clear as they seemed.
And in the end, he stayed. Barca were left with egg on their face as their top target led them to believe he would join, only to change his mind. His decision was announced in a documentary aired at the start of the World Cup: “The Decision”.
In it, there is much soul-searching before the conclusion after half an hour. “I’m staying”. Atletico fans were relieved, yet some were also annoyed. The melodrama irked many, but jeers earlier in the season had turned to cheers after he led the club to a major trophy – the Europa League.
It was not the Champions League, but it was a start. Since his arrival in 2014, Griezmann had only won a Spanish Supercopa at Atleti. The big objective, for player and club, was – and still is – the Champions League. This season seemed like the perfect chance, perhaps the last one for this great team, with the final to take place at the Wanda Metropolitano.
But that has gone now. Would he stand a better chance of winning the Champions League at Barca? Certainly, he would be likely to win more prizes, but he would also inevitably be in Lionel Messi’s shadow. Was that why he opted not to go there? “Could be,” he told Canal Plus last year.
In that same interview, he also revealed that several team-mates had come to visit him at his house to persuade him to stay. Coach Diego Simeone went too. Those things meant a lot, he said.
The money probably helped, too. Atleti are now paying Griezmann a reported €20m per year after tax, wages he would not be earning at Barcelona. Yet still, it seems, something is missing.
Atleti began the season by winning the UEFA Super Cup, but the Copa del Rey and the Champions League have gone and just La Liga is left. Only a win tonight at Camp Nou will give Simeone’s side a chance to claim the title, and even then they would be five points behind Barca.
“I’m sick of it,” Griezmann said recently of the constant speculation surrounding his future, yet he has never entirely put it to bed either. “He will not be leaving in the summer: 1000%,” Atleti president Enrique Cerezo said last week. But that only served to remind everyone of Jordi Mestre’s now infamous claim that “Neymar 200% won’t be leaving Barca”.
Neymar did leave Barca, of course, but has not exactly been better off at Paris Saint-Germain. And at Camp Nou, only one of the two players brought in to replace him has shone. While Ousmane Dembele is a footballer on the rise, Philippe Coutinho is still struggling to adapt – and the Brazilian could be sold this summer.
In the meantime, the Blaugrana are also seeking a goalscorer as Luis Suarez approaches the end of his career. The Uruguayan is 32 and has no real back-up. In the past, prospective signings were wary, but there would surely be opportunities now – especially for a player of Griezmann's quality.
So the Frenchman is in the frame all over again. Many at Barca do not want him, though, and tonight the fans at Camp Nou are expected to whistle the 28-year-old after he snubbed their team – even though coach Ernesto Valverde told them not to in his pre-match press conference.
On the board, there is some reticence, too, after the player turned them down last summer. The whole episode caused embarrassment to the club, not least because the documentary itself was made by Gerard Pique’s production company and then teased by the defender on the day of its release.
It is unclear whether Barca would be prepared to go back in, although El Mundo Deportivo – with close links to the board – have reported that the club could well be interested again this summer.
Earlier this year, L’Equipe claimed the Catalans would be back in for the forward, while Spanish show La Sexta said on Friday that the player will say ‘yes’ if there is another offer from the Blaugrana this summer.
One year on and despite the documentary, this story will not go away and Griezmann may just have a “decision” to make all over again this summer: stay and be the main man at Atletico or move for more glory, more goals and more trophies at Barcelona, albeit in Messi’s shadow.
Tonight’s Barca-Atleti match may just help him to make up his mind and it could be that last summer’s film has a sequel soon. The Decision: Part Deux?
Early team news
Barcelona will be without several players, including winger Ousmane Dembele, with Valverde uncertain if the France international will be fit to face Man Utd next week.
Arturo Vidal also serves a suspension, while goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen and Rafinha are set to be sidelined again.
Meanwhile, Atletico will be short of attacking options at the Nou Camp.
Diego Costa will miss out with a muscular problem, while Alvaro Morata suffered an ankle injury in the home win against Girona on Tuesday night. Thomas Lemar is also absent with a muscle injury.
Simeone out to change history
Simeone has called on his team to show their true colours against the league leaders tonight.
"That we've never won at the Nou Camp actually makes me very optimistic," he told the club's official website.
"If we win tomorrow and then we don't win the next games, it counts for nothing. Tomorrow we have to show the identity which this team has."
Valverde: Title race not over yet
Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde has dismissed suggestions the LaLiga title race will be over if his side beat Atletico Madrid in this weekend's battle of the top two at the Nou Camp.
A victory for the defending champions would move them 11 points clear of second-placed Atletico with seven games remaining.
For a side that has only lost three times in their last 75 league games, it seems unlikely Barca would let slip such an advantage but Valverde is taking nothing for granted.
He told a press conference as reported by the Spanish press: "It (the gap) is not definitive until it is mathematically so.
"For many people, the league was decided in January. Then you lose a game and the league is back on. We need to carry on until the end."
Asked if a draw would be a decent result, Valverde added: "If you're losing 2-0 with three minutes to go, then yes a draw is a great result.
"But our intention is to win. Of course, anything can then happen in the game but we're setting out to win it.
"The three points are very important for both teams."
Welcome to Standard Sport's LIVE coverage of Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid!
Our Spanish correspondent Ben Hayward will be at Camp Nou tonight as Barca and Atleti battle it out in what could prove to be a season-defining match in LaLiga.