FC Barcelona started the season like a raging bull, winning every match and usually mercilessly hammering their rivals. But things have taken a dramatic turn for the Hansi Flick team, who a little over a month ago seemed to be the main and sometimes only candidate for the domestic Liga title this season. They have now fewer points than they had with Xavi Hernández this point last year.
But, in the last seven Liga games, since a 1-0 defeat against Real Sociedad on November 11, Barcelona has only won one Liga game (1-5 against Mallorca), drawed two and lost four. That includes three consecutive defeats at home, at the Estadio Olimpic Lluís Companys in Montjuïc, because their Camp Nou is now being refurbished, and will unlikely be open for the remaining of the season, according to most recent reports.
Their latest defeat, on Saturday against Atlético de Madrid, was perhaps the most painful one for several reasons, starting with the fact that, unlike many of the previous matches, FC Barcelona played much better than their rivals, pressuring much more vehemently but missing out too many ocasions, with the Liga top scorer, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha wasting chances to clinch the match.
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And Atleti, closing in on their best track record ever with 12th consecutive victories -the record is 13- played what they do best: seize the opportunity to flip the match 180º with substitutions, and score goals in the added time.
Barcelona spectators cheered when the referee announced six minutes of injury time, because their team was laying siege to Atleti with 1-1 on the scoreboard. But then, on the 96th minute, a counter attack found Norwegian Alexander Sorloth hand in hand with Barcelona's keeper Iñaki Peña, and he didn't miss. It was the first time coach Cholo Simeone, after 12 years, wins in Barcelona.
With this last minute victory, Atlético de Madrid will greet the new year as their sole leaders of LaLiga, with 41 points. Barcelona has 38 points with a game in hand, meaning the distance could be even larger when everyone picks on their postponed matches in January.