Atletico Madrid snatched an improbable victory to go top of the La Liga table as Alexander Sorloth scored with the final kick of the game to secure a 2-1 win over Barcelona in Catalonia on Saturday.
The seismic moment in the Spanish title race was also a historic moment, representing the first-ever league win for Diego Simeone at Barcelona and marking the first time since 2006 in which Atletico Madrid secured a La Liga victory on the road against the Catalan giants.
Barcelona dominated nearly the entire match from an attacking perspective, and as Pedri scored on the half-hour mark, it seemed a harbinger of yet another painful reminder of Atleti’s woes at this City of Horrors. Simeone’s side were under siege the entire first 45 minutes, failing to produce a single shot before the break.
As the second half began, little changed, and it seemed the visitors were helpless to stop history repeating itself yet again. Even after Rodrigo de Paul equalized against the run of play in the 60th minute, it felt only a matter of time that Barcelona would reestablish their earlier lead.
Yet when Robert Lewandowski inexplicably missed a sitter with 15 minutes to go, hope began to creep in for the Atletico Madrid. Then, in the 97th minute, super-sub Alexander Sorloth completed a venomous counter-attack and plunged a dagger into the hearts of Barcelona.
It sent Atletico Madrid top of the Spanish top flight table on 12 consecutive wins across all competitions, while Barcelona have now won just one of their last seven in La Liga play, including two straight defeats
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