Spanish La Liga: Barcelona see off Atletico Madrid as Adama Traore and Aubameyang shine on debut
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.
Barcelona 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.
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 and both had positive displays with Adama stealing 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.
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.
