This is the way the championship titles are won. Barcelona are three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table after beating Atletico Madrid 1-0 away on Sunday night.Xavi’s team cruised to victory on the wings of Ousmane Dembele, as his early goal secured a critical win for the visitors.Antoine Griezmann was given a marvellous opportunity to level the score deep in the stoppage time, but Ronald Araujo saved his side with a goal-line clearance.90+4’Antoine Griezmann (Atl. Madrid) receives a neat pass inside the box and instantly thumps the ball goalward, but a Araujo makes a last ditch block to deny him.#FCB #ATM pic.twitter.com/h236oYZaK2— zack💚 FAST GOALS (@GoalsZack) January 8, 2023 The Catalans didn’t shine against Cholo Simeone’s slot but survived some 20 minutes of the rival’s attacks in the first half, enabling them to develop their usual style of play for the rest of the game.The start of the match was more than promising, as Ansu Fati jumped on the mistake made by the hosts’ defenders to fire from a close range, but Gimenez’s last-gasp sliding tackle denied a sudden opener.The pressure, however, kept rising as Christensen tried his luck from a long distance, causing though not too much disturbance for Oblak.And then, third-time charm! Pedri scanned the space opening in front of him and found just the pocket he was looking for before opting for Gavi in the middle of the box. The latter slotted the pass to unmarked Dembele on the right wing, and the French forward tucked it smoothly low into the far corner for a 1-0 lead.GOAL!Atletico Madrid 0-1 BarcelonaOusmane Dembele scores#AtletiBarça #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/xvuS5MBtta— H/F (@hfworld_) January 8, 2023 Disoriented, Atletico seemed shocked by that early conceding. Their back-line made a horrible error that presented Gavi with a clear-cut chance to double the lead just a minute after Dembele’s opener. Alas, his lob was woeful, and it stayed 1-0 on the scoreboard.📌 Ousmane Dembélé is one of only two players to have scored 5+ goals and provided 5+ assists in LaLiga this season, after Antoine Griezmann (also 5 and 5) 📊 [opta]#AtletiBarça pic.twitter.com/lP8FHGPvPa— Barça Capricorn ♑ (@capricorn_barca) January 8, 2023 It was not until half an hour on the clock when Los Colchoneros created their very first opportunity, as pink-haired Griezmann linked up with Llorente, but Ronald Araujo slid as Gimenez did early on to stop it. The mentioned Atleti’s defender joined his forwards soon and jumped sky-high for a powerful header that flashed wide of the post as Ter Stegen was already beaten.Unlike the Blaugrana, the home team wasn’t lucky with their third attempt, albeit it was a quick, masterful Griezmann’s shot. This time, Ter Stegen was on the ball and pinned it just over the crossbar.Watch: Ter Stegen denied Griezmann today with a wonderful save! pic.twitter.com/CDcc6bVgSR— Underdog Soccer (@Underdog_Soccer) January 8, 2023 The lack of excitement spread throughout the rest of the first half and the first 20 minutes of the second period. The only one close to scoring (again) was Dembele, only to see two of his efforts going off target.Still, Xavi didn’t seem to be thrilled with the developments on the pitch, making two changes, taking De Jong and Fati off, for Kessie and Ferran Torres. On the other end, Simeone put all of his hopes in Morata’s hands.📸 – RED CARD SAVIC & FERRAN TORRES! pic.twitter.com/gKdMseKl7v— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) January 8, 2023 The remaining time proved it was nothing but wishful thinking, with Barca taking all of the action far away from Ter Stegen, killing the game’s tempo blatantly and purposely.Still, the hosts were given a splendid chance to grab at least a point late in the game, but Araujo sealed his excellent performance denying Griezmann’s tap-in in the dying moments for the win.LA LIGA – Round 16FridayElche – Celta 0-1 (0-1)/Aspas 5/Valencia – Cadiz 0-1 (0-1)/Alcaraz 9/SaturdayVillareal – Real Madrid 2-1 (0-0)/Pino 47, Moreno 63 pen – Benzema 60 pen/Mallorca – Valladolid 1-0 (0-0)/Prats 90+4/Espanyol – Girona 2-2 (0-1)/Puado 51, Joselu 76 – Villa 32, Herrera 85/SundayAlmeria – Real Sociedad 0-2 (0-0)/David Silva 47, Sorloth 52/Rayo Vallecano – Betis 1-2 (1-2)/Camello 20 – Balliu 7 og, Henrique 40/Sevilla – Getafe 2-1 (1-0)/Acuna 36, Mir 80 – Mayoral 87/Atletico Madrid – Barcelona 0-1 (0-1)/Dembele 22/Monday23:00: (1.70) Ath.Bilbao (3.60) Osasuna (5.40)***odds are subject to change***
