Fixtures and results round 33 La Liga
After being drawn by Celta Vigo and falling behind Real Madrid in the top race, Barcelona was in a difficult situation. The constant internal conflicts make fans skeptical about Barcelona.
Barcelona had an unexpected advantage to win all 3 points
Welcoming Atletico at home, Barcelona had to win to raise hopes of winning the championship. They soon gained an advantage after diego Costa scored an own goal, but Saul Niguez equalized on the penalty spot.
In the second half, Messi scored the 700th goal in his career on penalties. However, Atletico received a penalty for the second time and Saul Niguez completed the double, setting the score to 2-2.
After 33 rounds of La Liga, Barcelona has only 70 points and 1 point less than Real Madrid (32 matches). The gap between the two teams will be widened, if Real Madrid beat Getafe on the night of July 2.
Diego Costa missed a penalty in the 15th minute
After reviewing VAR, the referee for Atletico was replayed and Saul Niguez equalized 2-2
Barcelona entered the game on a careful 4-4-2 with Busquets, Vidal and Rakitic supporting the forward Messi-Luis Suarez. Atletico side, the scoring task is given to diego Costa and Llorente.
Immediately after the opening whistle, the match took place jubilantly with consecutive tit-for-tat situations. Atletico played aggressively and they did not accept defensive kicks when facing Barcelona
Suddenly arrived in the 11th minute, Barca took the lead, following the awkward situation of burning the home net of striker diego Costa of Atletico. Lionel Messi was the one who made the corner on the right wing, making Costa a criminal.
Messi successfully completed a penalty, raising the score to 2-1 for Barcelona in the 20 minute
The two teams fought back for a fight in a tense battle
However, 4 minutes later, diego Costa became the focus of the 11m kick that Yannick Carrasco earned. However, fortunately for Atletico because after reviewing VAR, the referee determined that goalkeeper Ter Stegen had moved before Costa hit the shot, so the visitors were replayed.
And in the second shot, midfielder Saul Niguez was given the opportunity and he successfully transformed Atletico to equalize 1-1. In the following minutes, both teams played fiercely and cautiously, but no clear opportunity was created.
Messi is the destination of Barcelona’s attacking football, but he plays alone in attack. Luis Suarez was accompanied by Atletico defenders very close and almost left no mark.
Saul Niguez successfully executed a second penalty, helping Atletico equalize 2-2
Coach Simeone constantly directed Atletico players outside the pitch
In the second half, an open match was created by the two teams. 50 minutes, defender Nelson Semedo fell down in the penalty area after a breakthrough effort. On the 11m mark, Messi coldly launched a panelka-style kick to defeat goalkeeper Jan Oblak to help Barcelona lead 2-1
However, in the 61st minute, Semedo was mentioned in an undesirable way, when he made a mistake with Carrasco in the penalty area, thereby giving Atletico the second penalty of the match.
Like in the first half, Saul Niguez made no mistake when defeating goalkeeper Stegen, bringing the match back to a 2-2 equilibrium. This is Saul Niguez’s first time to score twice in a match.
The match was intense and fierce
Messi’s efforts could not help Barcelona win
In the rest of the time, Barca focused all efforts but could not penetrate the solid defense of Atletico. Besides, the visitors also created some dangerous counterattack situations thanks to the speed of Joae Felix or Morata.
Messi reacts to the decisions of coach Quique Setien
Messi as usual is still the only bright spot of Barcelona, but he was not afraid to make mistakes by Atletico players to prevent danger. The 2-2 draw was kept until the end of the match, Barcelona was hopeless in the first race with Real Madrid.
La Liga provisional standings
