Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid live stream online: LaLiga

Barcelona overcame another significant hurdle in their bid to reclaim the Liga title with a 1-0 victory over their nearest challengers Atlético Madrid in Camp Nou, which opened up an eight-point lead for Ernesto Valverde’s side with 11 games of the domestic campaign remaining.

Leo Messi’s 600^th goal for club and country will be remembered as a significant one, the Argentinean maestro curling a free-kick over the Atlético wall and beyond the outstretched glove of Jan Oblak to secure three points and hand Barcelona the advantage in this season’s Liga campaign. Although the leaders have by no means got a run-in devoid of peril, Barça will have to lose three of their remaining games to let Atlético back into the chase. Sevilla, Valencia and Real Madrid are among their opponents between now and May 20 but the result in Camp Nou against the only side with any reasonable chance of catching Valverde’s team also preserved the only unbeaten league record of any club among Europe’s “big five” top flights.

The Atlético Madrid side that had won their last six consecutive Liga games and had rattled in nine goals against Sevilla and Leganés in the space of a week simply did not turn up in Camp Nou with Diego Simeone reverting to his defensive nature. A flat midfield four with little in the way of width left Diego Costa – who scored high on histrionics but failed to make an impact – and Antoine Griezmann isolated and the visitors lacked the fizz on the break of recent games, failing to take advantage of Barça’s high line when the game opened up a little in the second half.

Atlético enjoyed more of the ball than most guests at Barça’s Liga banquet but lacked any clear ideas as to what to do with it, aiming pointless punts in the vague direction of the front two and limp crosses into a melee of claret and blue shirts when they did manage to get to the touchline. A total of 41 tackles by the visitors tells its tale as to where the true attacking intent lay and Barça managed 16 attempts to Atlético’s six, Simeone’s side drumming up just a single shot on target.

Griezmann fails to impress against potential employers

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Substitute Kevin Gameiro did have the ball in the back of the net five minutes from time but the goal was rightly ruled out for offside as Costa strayed just beyond Barça’s defensive line before knocking down for the Frenchman. Of Simeone’s substitutes Ángel Correa had the greatest impact, running terrier-like at the home back four and stretching the game to open spaces for Griezmann. But whether the France striker is feeling the effects of an accumulation of games or was simply off-key Atlético couldn’t find the right notes to trouble Valverde’s side, who were not exhilarating either but possess arguably the finest striker of a free-kick in the game today in the shape of Messi.

As is so often the case, it was the left foot of the Argentina captain that settled the affair, his opposite number in the Atlético number seven shirt fluffing his lines in what may yet prove to be his new home ground next season. A wayward shot that clipped the clouds on its way back down summed up Griezmann’s afternoon as Atlético wilted under the glare of history, unable to summon that fighting spirit that secured the Liga title on the same ground in 2013-14 while simultaneously offering limp resistance to Barça’s inexorable march towards this season’s prize.