Barcelona 2-0 Atletico Madrid: Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez strike to close in on La Liga title
Barcelona closed in on La Liga title after beating 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 in Saturday's top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp as late strikes by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
Atletico began brightly but their gameplan went out of the window when Diego Costa was shown a straight red card in the 28th minute for a verbal tirade at referee Jesus Gil Manzano.
Atletico produced a gutsy second-half display, expertly shackling Barca, but the Catalans finally found a way past the visitors' outstanding goalkeeper Jan Oblak with a superb curling shot from Suarez in the 85th minute.
Moments later Messi sealed victory and quite probably the league title with an irresistibly cool finish into the net and Barca's fans jubilantly chanted "champions", crowing at their surely unassailable lead at the top with seven games remaining.
Atletico midfielder Koke conceded that Barca had wrapped up the title but questioned the decision to send Costa off.
"Barca are practically champions. It was a very strange game, we were doing so well until the red card but all the small details went their way," Koke told reporters.
"Whenever we come here something strange happens, we've had a lot of red cards against Barca and not all of them have been fair. When you have 10 men against one of the best teams in the world it's normal that it's a struggle."
Suarez highlighted his side's character for winning such a difficult game so soon after their gruelling 4-4 draw against Villarreal in midweek.
"This was another game which shows just how hard it is to win the league so we deserve lot more credit for what we're achieving," Suarez said.
"We've now got a very big advantage over Atletico. There are still some games left but we took two steps towards winning the league today."
Atletico realistically needed to win at the Nou Camp for the first time since 2006 to stay in the title race and they played with ambition and intelligence in the opening stages, keeping the ball for long periods and depriving Barca of space.
But they were rocked by Costa's moment of madness which killed their early momentum and left them with little choice but to defend for the remaining hour of the game.
Striker Costa reacted angrily to not being awarded a foul after being tackled by Jordi Alba and gave a long verbal response to the referee, who to his disbelief pulled out a red card.
Costa had to be shepherded off the pitch by Barca's Gerard Pique as he struggled to control his temper while his team mates Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez earned bookings for venting their anger over the decision.
Atletico coped superbly with the setback and numerical disadvantage, controlling the space for the majority of the game.
Messi still carved his way through the middle of the pitch on two occasions, creating openings for Suarez and himself but both South American forwards were thwarted by the titanic presence of Oblak.
Atletico naturally had limited opportunities down the other end but were not far from finding a goal when Antoine Griezmann picked out Rodrigo from a free kick but the midfielder headed over the bar when Gimenez was stood behind him, in a better position.
Diego Simeone's side could not last the distance, however, and as their legs inevitably tired, Barca's attacking quality made the difference.
"We knew what the game would be like, Atletico are very organised and after the red card we tried to attack more but it wasn't easy," Suarez said.
"But we kept going, we showed a great attitude and kept testing their goalkeeper who was the hero of the game."
But eventually Barcelona secured the win, the three points, and, as the post-match interviewer put to Koke in the immediacy of defeat, surely the title.
Serenaded off by chants of champions by the Camp Nou crowd, Barcelona can perhaps switch their attentions to the Champions League, a competition Lionel Messi is so desperate to win.
That's all from us here this evening. I've been Harry Latham-Coyle for The Independent - thank you for joining me.
A word for Jan Oblak, who was quite magnificent between-the-sticks for Atletico, as well as Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez in the heart of defence who frustrated Barcelona for so long.
It had a bit of everything, somewhat surprising that Diego Costa's mad muttering was the only flashpoint of a contest that threatened to boil over throughout.
Costa's first-half dismissal made an uphill battle particularly steep for Atletico but they so nearly fought to the summit, a quick-fire one-two punch from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi late on enough to secure Barcelona a win that might secure the title.
GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Atletico Madrid (Lionel Messi, 87 minutes)
Atletico are broken. Goal number 33 of the season for Lionel Messi.
He's set free down the right, looking to cut inside but stopped by a heroic challenge by Jose Gimenez, who gives everything to get back and has no energy left as Messi regathers the loose ball, Gimenez left looking on as the Argentine takes a touch and finds a slotted finish, giving Oblak the eyes as only he can to leave him standing as the ball nestles in the near corner.
GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Atletico Madrid (Luis Suarez, 84 minutes)
There's the opener! Superb finish from Luis Suarez!
The Atletico Madrid players are distraught.
Suarez rolls the ball out of his feet and Thomas PAatey's fatigued legs can't get close enough to him 20 yards out, a curled shot beating even the superhuman Jan Oblak and flicking in off the post.
Rodri and Jose Gimenez leap to meet Antoine Griezmann's delivery and it is the former who meets it, Gimenez furious in a seemingly more opportune position to head on target as Rodri can only loop his header across goal and over the bar as he falls backwards.
Gerard Pique catches Alvaro Morata in the left corner and the centre-back earns a caution for some choice words towards both the striker and the referee. Presumably not about his mother, though. Pique will miss the next game, I believe.
A classic Lionel Messi low shot from the edge of the box seems destined for the corner but the Slovenian somehow gets down to it and is remarkably back on his feet in time to catch Malcom's volleyed rebound with the greatest of ease.
A brilliant performance from the Atletico goalkeeper so far.
