Barcelona had a spectacular 4-2 victory over Atletico Madrid to take the lead in La Liga.
Julian Alvarez took Atletico up the lead in the 45th minute at Metropolitano after a good combination between Antoine Griezmann and Giuliano Simeone. After that, the player came on as a replacement for Alexander Sorloth to double the gap for the home team, changing Conor Gallagher's pass.
Blaugrana responded with 2 goals in 6 minutes thanks to Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, before Lamine Yamal's spectacular shot in the 92nd minute put them ahead. In the final minutes of extra time, Ferran Torres completed a double to seal the victory for the away team.
This result put Barcelona at the top of La Liga with 60 points, equal to Real Madrid but playing 1 match less. Meanwhile, Atletico are 4 points behind and have also been eliminated from the Champions League.
The importance of this victory for Barca can be easily felt through the celebration of the players on the field. Yamal took off his shirt to celebrate his emotions after helping Blaugrana take the lead. Even when Ferran Torres increased the score to 4-2, Barca's substitutes flooded the pitch.
When the two teams met last month in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, Barca came back from 0-2 to lead 4-2. That match ended with a score of 4-4. And there was no such pain at the end of the match for Hansi Flick's team when both sides played again in La Liga.
The Catalan team is firmly in the leading position, but still has many difficulties. They have 60 points equal to Real, the team has 10 more matches. Barca have 11 more matches due to the postponement of the match against Osasuna last weekend.
Atletico are four points behind Barca and Real, but have met each team twice. That could give them hope when the Blaugrana host Real Madrid in May. Diego Simeone's side could also be the more physical of the three teams as they have no more Champions League games to wear.
In addition, the way this year's La Liga campaign takes place shows that there will be many more turning points and changes. All three teams have lost the lead at different stages of the season.
Looking ahead, the final match of the season could be very important: Real Madrid hosted Real Sociedad, Atletico visited Girona and Barcelona may need to win all 3 points against Athletic Bilbao in San Mames.
"It's been difficult, I know it's a long way. What I feel right now is really good. I believe in the team that we can create big things together, but there is still a long way to go.
We will try our best to win the championship, and today's match will give us a lot more confidence" - Flick answered when asked about Barcelona's ambitions.
