LaLiga 2019-20, Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona: Recapping the last 3 meetings between the two clubs

#1 2018-19: Barcelona 2-0 Atletico Madrid

Messi rejoices after scoring against Atletico Madrid

League leaders Barcelona struggled away against a well-drilled Atletico defence as the game remained goalless with five minutes of normal time remaining.

Atletico were the better side in the opening half-hour as Diego Costa proved a menace for the home team. But the visitors had to ditch their attacking game-plan and resort to their usual counter-attacking style of play when Costa was sent off.

Just as it looked like Atletico had done enough to settle for a goalless stalemate, Luis Suarez proved them wrong. The Uruguayan striker let loose a right-footed effort from outside the box which beat the Atletico keeper Jan Oblak.

Exploiting the suddenly opened-up Atleti backline, Lionel Messi rubber-stamped the win a minute later. The Argentinian's close-range effort found the back of the net despite a well-timed challenge from Jose Maria Gimenez.

It was Messi's 33rd Liga goal of the campaign as Barcelona went 11 points clear at the top.

About the author

Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 18 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Musab Abid