Atletico 1-2 Barcelona ended with the champions three points clear at the top of LaLiga on Sunday night, as Fermin Lopez scored twice to overturn Giuliano Simeone’s early opener at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano — while Ademola Lookman watched the entire game from the Atletico bench.
The Super Eagles star had been tipped for a recall after his difficult night in the 2-0 Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich in midweek, but Diego Simeone kept faith with Lee Kang-In and Julian Alvarez in attack. And when the game turned in the second half, the Atletico boss turned to Alexander Sorloth and Jonathan David instead of the Nigerian. Lookman stayed on the bench for the full 90 minutes.
Atletico 1-2 Barcelona: Simeone strikes early, Fermin answers twice
Atletico made the perfect start. Alvarez slipped a pass through for Giuliano Simeone in the 10th minute and the winger finished with his right foot to send the Metropolitano wild. The hosts, who arrived on a seven-match winning run in LaLiga, looked ready to leapfrog Barcelona at the top — but Fermin had other ideas. The Spanish midfielder finished first time with his right foot on the stroke of half-time to make it 1-1, and he struck again in the 66th minute, this time fed by Lamine Yamal, to complete the comeback.
Barcelona dominated the ball after the break — 63% possession, 19 shots to Atletico’s nine, and an expected-goals edge of 1.48 to 1.15 — and the champions held on through a scrappy finish that brought yellow cards for Alex Baena, Marc Bernal, Marcos Llorente and Marc Pubill. Hansi Flick’s side were without Rodri, out with a hamstring injury, and 19-year-old Bernal started in his place, while top scorer Raphinha — 15 league goals in 10 games before kick-off — led the attack.
Lookman unused again as Simeone sticks with Lee
For Lookman, the night only deepened the questions around his Atletico future. The predicted recall never came — the team news confirmed him among the substitutes — and Simeone’s changes told their own story: Sorloth on the hour, Johnny Cardoso and Morten Hjulmand in the 72nd minute, David in the 78th. Not once did the Argentine look towards the Nigerian. It was a sharp contrast to midweek in Munich, where Lookman started but was criticised after the defeat, with Simeone publicly backing his player afterwards.
The timing could hardly be worse. Lookman is in Eric Chelle’s 24-man Super Eagles squad for the AFCON qualifiers against Tanzania, with the first leg in Uyo on Friday 13 November and the return in Zanzibar four days later. He will arrive at the camp short of match rhythm, and Chelle will have to decide whether a player who cannot get off the bench in Madrid can be trusted to start for Nigeria.
Barcelona three points clear as Atletico’s winning run ends
The result leaves Barcelona on 33 points, three clear at the top, while Atletico stay on 28 after their seven-match winning run in the league came to an end. It was also Barcelona’s sixth straight away win in LaLiga this season — only the third time in the club’s history they have opened a campaign with six wins on the road. In the recent head-to-head, Barcelona have now won 12 of the last 19 meetings between the sides.
With the international break now looming, the focus shifts to Uyo — and for the latest odds and tips on the weekend’s football, check today’s predictions.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (Stepro, CC BY-SA 4.0) — collage by SportsBuddy
