Barcelona created a three-point lead at the top of the La Liga table when they got a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

Xavi’s side was levelled on points with La Liga rivals Real Madrid, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side dropped points in their 1-2 loss to Villarreal at the Estadio De La Ceramica on Saturday.

Therefore, it was imperative for Barcelona to win to create a three-point gap between themselves, having been topping the table only due to their superior goal difference compared to the Los Blancos.

Barcelona had to play without Poland striker Robert Lewandowski who was out due to a red card; Xavi started Ansu Fati in the false-nine position as he was flanked by Ousmane Dembele and Pedri.

Gavi, Busquets, and De Jong were in the midfield and shielded a defensive formation that had Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, and Alejandro Balde.

Ousmane Dembele got the winner 22 minutes into the game courtesy of a Gavi assist. Even though goals didn’t follow, there was drama in the second half as both teams were reduced to ten men each.

A hot-tempered finale followed as Stefan Savic and Ferran Torres got into a scuffle resulting in a red card for both players.

The win puts Barcelona three points ahead of Real Madrid, but they won’t play a La Liga game until the 21st of January against Getafe, as the Blaugrana will face Real Betis in the Super Cup and then Cueta in the Copa Del Rey.

On the other, Atletico Madrid sits in fifth position with 27 points from sixteen games. 

Other games on Sunday saw Sevilla get a 2:1 victory against Getafe; Real Sociedad also beat Almeria 2-0 with Real Betis beating Rayo Vallecano.

Real Madrid’s 2-1 loss saw Gerard Moreno and Yeremi Pino sandwiching Karim Benzema’s 60th-minute strike.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu