Fermin Lopez scored twice as Barcelona overturned an early deficit to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday, November 8, restoring their three-point advantage at the top of La Liga.
Real Madrid had moved level with Barcelona on 30 points after beating Valencia 3-0 on Saturday. Hansi Flick’s side responded with a victory that took them to 33 points before the international break.
Barcelona have now won 11 of their 12 La Liga matches this season. Their only dropped points came in last month’s home El Clasico defeat by Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid made the stronger start and came close to taking the lead in the sixth minute when Julian Alvarez ran through on goal. However, he took too many touches and allowed Joan Garcia to make the save.
Marc Pubill then struck the crossbar with a header for the home side, while Barcelona went close at the other end when Pedri hit the post.
Atletico did take the lead in the 10th minute. Alvarez delivered a low cross into the area and Giuliano Simeone finished the move.
Play was stopped for one minute soon afterwards as players and supporters paid tribute to Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel. He died after suffering a serious injury during a Spanish Second Division match.
Barcelona levelled just before half-time after Atletico failed to clear their penalty area. Lopez took advantage of the loose ball, curling his shot beyond Jan Oblak.
The comeback was completed in the 66th minute when Lamine Yamal, the 19-year-old Barcelona winger, found Lopez with a precise pass through the Atletico defence. Lopez then finished past Oblak to give the visitors the lead.
Atletico pushed for an equaliser during the closing stages, but Garcia was not seriously tested as Barcelona held on.
The defeat leaves Atletico third in the table on 28 points, five behind Barcelona. It was their second league loss of the season.
Yamal’s assist for Lopez was his 13th goal involvement of the campaign? No: according to Transfermarkt data, the winger has scored 13 goals and provided 12 assists in 16 appearances across all competitions.
After the match, prediction market Polymarket rated Yamal as the leading candidate in its 2027 Ballon d’Or odds, giving him a 25% chance of winning the award.
Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe was second on 22%, followed by Barcelona team-mate Raphinha on 14%. Harry Kane, the reigning 2026 winner, was given a 5% chance.
