La Liga, Barcelona thrash Atletico Madrid 4-2: Records broken
A resurgent Barcelona tore apart Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid by registering a thumping 4-2 victory at the Nou Camp in La Liga on Sunday Five goals were scored inside 50 minutes, and there was more. The returning Barca player Adama Traore had a sensational first half while Jordi Alba scored one of the best goals in the Spanish League of late. Here's more.
Why does it matter?
It was Barcelona's best game (in all competitions) since Xavi Hernandez took charge of the Catalan giants last year. Barca's commanding victory was even more important given that they were reduced to 10 men in the 69th minute. Dani Alves was booked for a foul during the second half of the match. Another red card was handed to Xavi's brother and assistant Oscar Hernandez.
How the match panned out?
Yannick Carrasco gave Atletico an early lead by breaking the deadlock in the eighth minute. Two minutes later, Alba leveled the score 1-1. Gavi's 21st-minute strike helped Barca go up. Ronald Araujo doubled the home side's lead in the 43rd minute. Alves scored the fourth goal for Barca in the 49th minute. Luis Suarez added a consolation goal for Atletico in the 58th minute.
Real Madrid beat Granada
In another interesting La Liga encounter, Real Madrid edged past Granada to further extend their lead at the top of the table. Real Madrid's Spanish winger Marco Asensio scored the only goal of the match. Asensio fired the shot in the 74th minute from a brilliant angle outside the box. Barring Asensio's goal, Granada played a perfect game in terms of defense.
Real, Barcelona, and Atletico's run in La Liga
Real are heading the La Liga table with 53 points in their kitty from 23 games (W16 D5 L2). They have scored 48 goals (highest). Meanwhile, Barcelona have moved to the fourth spot on the table with 38 points from 22 games (W10 D8 L4). Atletico Madrid have slipped to the fifth spot (W10 D6 L6). They have collected 36 points from 22 games.
Unwanted feat for Atletico
According to Opta, this is the third time Atletico have conceded four goals in a single game in La Liga under Diego Simeone. This is the first time an opponent has forced four goals against Atletico in Spain's top tier since December 2012.
Record by Suarez and Alves
Suarez has ended his goal-scoring drought in La Liga (8 games). This was his worst run in the top 5 European League. Suarez recorded the same feat between May and December 2014. Alves has achieved a unique feat by becoming the first player from Barca to score, assist, and see a red card in a single game in La Liga since the 2004/05 season.
