Barcelona Recovers Its Rhythm, Real Madrid Rises in LaLiga

It was Atlético's opportunity to climb to the top, with the advantage of playing at home at the Metropolitano Stadium. But they ran into a very serious Barça that dominated the match for practically all 90 minutes, along with a great Fermín López.

The 2-1 scoreline was quite faithful to the reality on the pitch. An early goal by Giuliano Simeone in the 10th minute stirred hope among the rojiblanco fans, though in reality it was a mirage.

Except for that and a few other moments, Atlético was inferior against a culé team that grew in ball possession, showing itself secure in defense except for a couple of plays that Argentine Julián Álvarez could not finish well.

"It was a good match for Barça and this time it was my turn to be the protagonist, but everything is part of the collective spirit and the ability of teammates like Lamine (Yamal)," Fermín highlighted, praising the assist from the azulgrana attacker.

The two clubs arrived at the duel with dissimilar sensations. Atlético, which was in a good dynamic in the Spanish tournament, was forced to come down to earth with its 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich at the Metropolitano itself.

The past was not enough for them, having been a scourge against Barcelona in most of their head-to-head meetings last season, although in the overall historical record, of a total of 254 matches, the culés have won 116 (now 117) and Atlético de Madrid 81, with 57 draws.

The offensive rhythm of Hansi Flick's Barça was not as overwhelming this time. Although it recovered after its slips against PSG and Real Madrid, it remained halfway, though it managed to overcome Atlético.

Besides Fermín, Yamal tried many times without success but created danger in the rival area; Raphinha was gray, and without a doubt the applause went to the orchestra conductor in midfield, Pedri González.

Watching the bulls from behind the barrier, the "casa blanca" (Real Madrid) gained some benefit from the Atlético-Barça clash after doing its homework in stellar fashion with a categorical 3-0 win over a declining Valencia side coached by Mexico's Javier Vasco Aguirre.

A rebound fell to the feet of Uruguayan Fede Valverde for 1-0, and later an individual play by Englishman Jude Bellingham found Turkishman Arda Guler well positioned for 2-0, and finally the Ottoman creative midfielder himself served a luxury pass to Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, who did not miss for the definitive 3-0.

It was the eighth consecutive victory for the merengues, a success celebrated with gusto by Portuguese coach José Mourinho, who seems to have found the key to his team's style of play.

The question now is what Mou will do with Brazilian Vinicius Junior, who has already served a four-match suspension. The 19-year-old Ivorian Yan Diomandé has taken over his position, and the general opinion is that the African should remain in the starting lineup.

Vinicius has notably lowered his performance, but he is still young (26). The Lusitanian coach, for now, settles his response with two phrases: no one is untouchable and lineups are made on the basis of meritocracy.

For now there is a truce, due to the international break this week. At the moment, Barcelona retains its lead, with a three-point advantage over Real Madrid and five more than Atlético.