Barcelona tightened their grip on the La Liga title race on Tuesday night after a commanding 3–1 comeback victory over Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou. Goals from Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres overturned an early setback and handed Diego Simeone’s men their first league defeat since August.
Atletico arrived in Barcelona on a seven-match winning streak in all competitions and showed that confidence early on. Their bright start paid off in the 19th minute when Alex Baena finished off a swift counterattack to silence the home crowd.
But the champions responded almost instantly. Just seven minutes later, Pedri sliced Atletico’s defence open with a precise through ball, allowing captain Raphinha to slot home from close range and restore belief.
Barcelona grew stronger as the match wore on, pressing higher and winning duels across the pitch. Their breakthrough came in the 65th minute when Dani Olmo pounced on a loose ball inside the box and fired a low finish beyond Jan Oblak to complete the turnaround.
Atletico pushed for an equaliser and could have levelled late on, but Antoine Griezmann missed a golden chance from inside the area. The miss proved costly. Deep into added time, Marcus Rashford broke free down the left and set up Ferran Torres, who wrapped up the points with a sharp first-time finish.
The result moves Barcelona to 37 points, four clear of Real Madrid, who play Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. Atletico stay fourth on 31 points and now face the challenge of regaining momentum ahead of their weekend trip to Bilbao.
Barcelona, meanwhile, head to Real Betis riding a five-match league winning streak and rediscovering their swagger after recent struggles in the Clásico and Champions League.
