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Atletico Madrid beat Barcelona 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano in La Liga on Saturday.
First-half goals from Thomas Lemar and Luis Suarez secured Rojiblancos their second consecutive home league win over Blaugrana, having also defeated them 1-0 in the same fixture last year.
The defending Spanish champions were the better side from start to finish, constantly catching their visitors on the break and creating better chances too.
It took a while but Atletico went ahead in the 23rd minute following a strike from Lemar. The Frenchman then turned provider for Suarez as the former Barcelona ace bagged his first-ever strike against them.
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The scoreline could've easily been more, had the Uruguayan been a little more clinical with his chance earlier. Joao Felix could also have gotten on the scoresheet had he not fired a good opportunity straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
For Barcelona, clear-cut chances were few and far between, but the best one fell to Philippe Coutinho. But he made a mess of it by firing right into Jan Oblak's embrace.
With Ronald Koeman watching from the stands, it was another disappointing performance from his side. It only served to heighten the pressure on the beleaguered manager.
Atletico, meanwhile, showed signs of the team that romped to the La Liga title last season. With this result, they are now level on points with city rivals Real Madrid, who're in action on Sunday.
Here are the hits and flops from the match:
Hit: Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)
Coming up against his former side for only the second time since his infamous switch last year, Luis Suarez knew this would be a special occasion, and he successfully marked the same with a goal.
Suarez dragged one shot wide off the post midway through the opening stanza. But El Pistolero then found another opportunity after Lemar squared the ball to him on the edge of the D.
After sprinting a few yards forward with the ball, he adjusted himself and powerfully slammed the ball into the far post. The finish left Ter Stegen helpless, with Gerard Pique stranded on the goalline.
It was only Suarez's fourth top-flight strike of the season, but suffice to say the most special of them all, and yet he didn't celebrate. Instead, he joined his hands to the onlooking Barcelona supporters in an apologizing gesture.
Flop: Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona)
At this point, one cannot help but wonder what exactly Philippe Coutinho's worth to Barcelona is.
The Brazilian had a mediocre 2020-21 season after returning from a successful loan spell with Bayern Munich. But he hasn't offered any great shakes this season either.
Koeman, who was watching his side from the executive box, gave the former Liverpool star another chance to impress by starting him in the XI.
Suffice to say Coutinho blew it with a below-par performance once more. While his passing was good, his attacking involvement was next to zero, and to make matters worse, even spurned an excellent chance in the second half.
Gavi hit Atletico on the break and then squared the ball to Coutinho, who was completely unmarked near the area. He took some time to take the shot and when he finally let rip, fired straight at Jan Oblak despite having much of the goal ahead of him.
An opportunity missed.
Hit: Thomas Lemar (Atletico Madrid)
Atletico Madrid's biggest threat in the first-half stemmed from Thomas Lemar, a livewire down the right-flank who scored their first goal and assisted the second.
He took a fine first-touch upon receiving the ball inside the box. Lemar then rifled home beyond Ter Stegen into the top right corner to give Rojiblancos the lead in the 23rd minute.
With nobody to challenge him on that side, the Frenchman had a gala time running into those acres of space and laying crosses from there.
In one nice break too, he assisted Suarez after receiving a pass from the right before releasing the Uruguayan, who finished the job.
Flop: Oscar Mingueza (Barcelona)
Oh my my, that was the most disastrous performance from a full-back you're going to see in a while.
Oscar Mingueza, a centre-back by trade, was deployed in an unconventional right-back spot tonight and had a stinker. Wait, that's an understatement - Mingueza was downright awful.
He drifted forward at every opportunity while abandoning his defensive responsibilities, allowing the likes of Thomas Lemar and then Antoine Griezmann to make hay going forward.
No wonder both of Atletico's goals tonight were scored or created from his side of the pitch. The 22-year-old failed to mark his opposite numbers and was very slow in making recovery runs too.
Mingueza, come hell or high water, shouldn't start at right-back ever again. Period.
Hit: Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid)
If Atletico were to keep out Barcelona's quality attackers at bay, they needed their centre-backs, especially Jose Gimenez, to bring their A1 game to the fore.
And the Uruguayan didn't disappoint, turning in a defensive masterclass with a stoic performance that kept the likes of Memphis Depay quiet.
He read the game brilliantly, throwing himself into some crucial blocks and interceptions, whilst also sniffing out danger and nipping it in the bud.
Gimenez made a staggering game-high nine clearances, completed three tackles and won all four of his ground duels, a testament to what a reckoning force he was in defense.
