Barcelona fought back to beat Atletico Madrid 4-2 in a La Liga thriller at the Camp Nou on Sunday as they clinically saw off the champions by scoring four goals from their only four shots on target in the game.
The win moved Barcelona up to fourth place on 38 points from 22 games, leapfrogging Atletico, who are now two points adrift in fifth. Barcelona dominated every part of the game from the beginning and were unperturbed when Yannick Carrasco opened the scoring on the counter eight minutes into the first half.
Jordi Alba got the equaliser two minutes later with a magnificent volley from a Dani Alves cross, and Gavi headed Barca in front a few minutes later.Ronald Araujo extended their lead before half-time, striking home on the rebound from inside the six-yard box after Gerard Pique’s header hit the bar.
Alves scored their fourth right after the break, smashing home a low shot from the edge of the box. Atletico coach Diego Simeone made four substitutions and Luis Suarez reduced the deficit, heading a loose ball into the net from close range.
Alves spoiled his Man-of-the-Match performance when he was sent off with a straight red card after he stomped on Carrasco in the 69th minute.
Giroud nets brace
Olivier Giroud scored twice in three minutes to earn AC Milan a stunning 2-1 comeback win over Serie A leaders Inter Milan on Saturday, sending the Rossoneri one point off top as the champions’ 14-match unbeaten league run came to an end.
Ivan Perisic put Inter in front at San Siro late in the first half, breaking Milan’s resistance.
But Giroud, starting in the place of Milan’s injured top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, nudged in an equaliser in the 75th minute before finding the bottom corner three minutes later to turn the game on its head.
Lewa strikes
Robert Lewandowski ended his one-game scoring drought. The Poland star scored his 24th goal in 21 games to help Bayern Munich stretch their Bundesliga lead to nine points with a 3-2 win over visiting Leipzig on Saturday.
Lewandowski, who hadn’t scored in the 4-1 win at Hertha Berlin before the international break, met Kingsley Coman’s precise cross with a thumping header to give Bayern a 2-1 lead over Leipzig before the break.
