This match between Barça and Atlético de Madrid could be one of the best of the season without any doubt. Changes on the scoreboard, stars like Lamine or Julián playing great games and with many mini-matches within the 90 minutes. Everything remains open for the Metropolitano, something that was impossible to say when the 80' was reached, where the fifth was closer than the
First Half of Madness
We knew from the beginning that this match was going to be thrilling, but perhaps we didn't expect what happened. At five minutes, Atlético de Madrid had gone 0-2 up, with goals from Julián and Griezmann, taking advantage of a poor start from the culés. First it was the Argentine, when some fans were still entering the stadium, and then Grizzi, taking advantage of a counterattack.
However, Flick's team reacted and in a matter of two minutes, they tied the score. Pedri scored the 1-2 after a sensational pass from Lamine to Kounde, back pass, and the Canary Islander deceives Musso to close the gap. In the next play, corner in favor of Barça and Cubarsí, at the far post, ties the score.
From there, Barça was superior to their rival, dominating the ball and creating dangerous chances. Ferran missed two quite clear one-on-ones and Lamine tried his luck from outside a couple of times. However, the goal that turned the result around would come again from the corner, this time it was Íñigo who scored after a block from Cubarsí.
A Heart-Stopping Finish
The second half started calmer than the first, although it's true that repeating it was almost impossible. However, the one in control was still Barça and as a result, Lewandowski's goal would come. Lamine Yamal left his mark and gifted the Polish player the goal that surpassed his best scoring record since being in Barcelona.
The carousel of changes began, with Cholo changing the scheme to try to close the gap ahead of the return leg. It wouldn't be until the final minutes when Marcos Llorente scored the third for the colcheros, thus provoking the reaction in search of the tie. And it would come in injury time, great ball from Lenglet to Lino and he passes it to Sorloth who scores again at Montjuïc in the final moments.
Tie completely open for the return at the Metropolitano. A match that had everything, goals, excitement, comebacks and where both showed they know how to recover from setbacks. A match that was an ode to football, to how to attack and to not giving up.