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Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid As It Happened

Full time: Barcelona 1-0 Atletico Madrid (Messi 26')
Updated: 04 March 2018 22:41 IST - Published: March, 04 2018 09:35 PM IST
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A deserved win for the hosts who dominated the first half and edged the second. Atleti were just too cagey in the first half and hardly attacked the Barca goal. That Messi freekick deserves to be a winner in any game, so the Atleti fans won't really be complaining. Barca are now eight points clear at the top of the table and I'd be surprised if they lose it from here on. 

It was nice bringing the game to you. Until next time, see you when I see you! This is Amit Mishra signing off...
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Peeep, peeeeeeeeep, peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Full time!
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92' The Atleti centrebacks hoof it long but Barca clear it calmly. Barca are nearly there...
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91' Suarez nearly scores with a brilliant chipped effort! Just wide! Surely there won't be any late equaliser here? 
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3 minutes to be added on...
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90' Suarez wins the battle of Uruguayans with his compatriot Godin as he wins a freekick near the corner flag. 
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89' Neither team is able to hold on to the ball for more than 10 seconds now. Way too eager. You'd think Barca would do better, but Atleti are trying, and credit to them for that. But they have been let down by some of their forwards. 
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88' Griezmann controls the ball on the left but his cross is cut out by Pique again! Sort of sums up his and Barca's game this evening. 
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87' A bit of hit and hope from Atletico. Not going to work with Barca's defence in this kind of form. Lest we forget, they still have to test Ter Stegen. 
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86' GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA NOOOOOOOOOO! Another offside! Correa did some good work on the right to find Costa who once again drifted just a tad too far!
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84' Coutinho is replaced by Paulinho. The former had a pretty decent game. Still has a lot of work todo but he's getting there. 
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84' Atleti just don't seem like they are going to score. Ter Stegen hasn't had one good save to make. As I say that, Costa is found offside.  
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82' Barca again drive forward but give it away as first Suarez and then Coutinho try to do it all on their own. Atleti are back in possession. 
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81' Costa again goes down too easily just when Atleti had a decent chance in the final third. Now or never for Atleti. A draw is the bare minimum they need. 
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80' Coutinho makes inroads from the left but goes down! No penalty! Seemed like he was on his was down before the challenge. Atleti have lost their composure in the last 10 minutes, though. 
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79' Saul does well to keep up with Messi and wins the ball in the final third. Atleti are struggling to get hold of the ball here as Barca are in command and are looking for that second goal
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78' First-time volley by Busquets but it just wasn't directed well enough from the corner. Barca manage to win the second ball and are in possession. 
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77' Barca are dominant now and Messi shifts it to his left foot and draws a save out of Oblak! Corner to the hosts. 
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 77' GOAAAAAAAAAAL! NOOOOOOO! Suarez is adjudged offside! Clear one, from the replays. 
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76' Half a chance for Gomes as Suarez and Messi combined brilliantly to set him up. His first touch isn't the best but Barca still manage a corner out of it. 
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75' Freekick to Barca as Rakitic is fouled by Costa. Seemed like a clear foul and a striker's challenge. 
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74' Griezmann smashes one in, but to row-z. He's been awful. Atleti decided to take Luis off for Lucas Hernandez. 
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72' Barca manage a good spell of possession as Messi decides to drop deep and add more composure in an important area of the pitch. 
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71' Barca look disjointed while attacking but again, Griezmann's pass to Correa is overhit. He keeps it in play and Barca still have some defending to do...
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70' Godin drifted to the far post to head Koke's freekick into the corridor of uncertainty, but the ref blows his whistle for a foul. 
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69' Atleti break was on but Correa was brought down by Rakitic. Seemed like a tactical foul. The away side are dangerous with the players they have up top now. 
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68' Gomes did well there and got the adulation of the fans, be it for like 10 seconds. Needs to do that more often, show a bit of fight and aggression. 
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67' It's almost a 4-2-4 now with Gameiro, Griezmann, Costa and Correa making the front four. Brave from Simeone. 
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66' Gabi is off, Gameiro is on. The skipper doesn't look happy about that.
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65' Barca counter and manage to win a corner. Pique's header is deflected as Barca win another corner. Umtiti gets his head on the second attempt and it flies over the bar. Goalkick.
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64' The idea of playing Thomas on the right isn't the worst. They are behind and need something his pace could provide with Correa's trickery and delivery. 
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63' Barca deal with it brilliantly again! Atletico are back in possession though and are trying to overload on the wide areas one again. Correa has been involved quite a few times already. 
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63' Theatricality and deception are Costa's powerful agents, like Bane's. He wins a freekick. Another dangerous position.
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62' Griezmann made a decent run on the left but his final ball is awful. He's flattered to deceive so far. 
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61' Pretty well dealt with by the hosts. This Barca defence looks so solid under Valverde. Couldn't have imagined all this a few months back when they were in tatters.
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60' Corner to Atletico as Correa makes his first contribution. Set piece threat to deal with for Barca...
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60' Vermaelen is warming up as Pique limped off. We could see the Spaniard continuing though. 
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59' Vrsaljko is off for Correa. Seems like a tactical shift as Thomas might play as right-back. 
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58' Messi's freekick this time hits the wall. Feel a bit for Coutinho because he was a pretty good set-piece taker at Liverpool! Won't get a sniff in now, will he? 
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57' Freekick to Barca. Gimenez gets booked for a fouled on Rakitic. The move was started from a darting Coutinh run down the middle. Messi on the ball again. Ominous signs here...
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56' Immense from Ter Stegen. Showed his silky smooth touch and distribution. Atleti's fullbacks are pushing on here, so the game a bit crowded in midfield.
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55' Coutinho controls the ball brilliant with a flick and finds Suarez but the latter isn't able to collect it properly. On the counter, Atletico find Costa but he's offside. 
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53' The game is being played a lot more in the midfield now. The first half saw more of the ball in the Atleti half with the hosts dominating proceedings. This is a much more even game now. 
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52' Barca finally manage to keep the ball, but Atleti are doing much better. Alba makes a run on the left but Vrsaljko manages to block Messi's attempted pass. 
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51' Atleti manage to win a freekick and Gabi whips in a good delivery. The second ball falls to Godin but his shot is wayward.  
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50' Pique manages to get the ball away after Gomes gets dispossessed. Atleti are doing all the pressing now. 
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49' Atletico have managed quite a lot of possession but have lacked the incision in the last couple of minutes. Barca need to keep the ball here and snuff out the Atleti extravagance with their attacking numbers. 
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48' Barca do a bit of defending as Atleti manage a spell of possession in front of the Barca box. But this isn't the Barca of the yore. They've been solid under Valverde and show that once again there as Atleti are pushed back. 
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47' Nearly a free-flowing Barca counterattack! Suarez was free on the right but he just couldn't find Messi. Coutinho was free on the left.
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46' Barca will have to be wary of Atleti's fullbacks. Alba and Sergi have been pretty active but can't push it too far. 

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