Barcelona loanee Joao Felix scored the winning goal against his parent club Atletico Madrid on Sunday evening in an enthralling La Liga clash.
Billed as the most important game of both club’s season so far, Barca relied on the brilliance of Felix to see them through against an aggressive Atleti outfit.
Here’s how X reacted to the game at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Armed with a bit of extra pace about their play they started to create actual chances for their forwards too.
Robert Lewandowski, in particular, was the benefactor of the improved service in and around the box but, much to fans’ chagrin, he wasn’t able to convert any of his early chances.
Luckily for Barca, Lewandowski’s strike partner Joao Felix wasn’t as wasteful in front of goal.
The Portuguese star, on loan from Atletico Madrid, played like a man possessed in the opening 45 minutes against his former club – a club he left in acrimonious circumstances.
Felix popped up in the 28th minute to latch onto a Raphinha pass, burst in the Atleti box, and chip over his ex-teammate.
He was always going to score against Atleti, wasn’t he?, And he was always going to celebrate too, wasn’t he?
Atletico Madrid did get a bit of payback shortly after when Axel Witsel very, very intentional chopped Felix down in the middle of the pitch.
He received a booking from the referee, and probably a pat in the back by his manager Diego Simeone at half-time.
Barcelona’s dominance of the first half sparked Diego Simeone into drastic action at half-time, with Atleti manager making three substitutions.
Jose Gimenez, Nahuel Molina and Rodrigo Riquelme all came off, replaced by Angel Correa, Samuel Dias Lino and Cesar Azpilicueta.
That latter of which made his mark immediately after being introduced…on Felix’s ankle with a cynical foul.
Aside from the extra stud marks on Felix’s leg, the substitutes did little to leave a mark on the game itself, with Barcelona continuing to dominate thanks to irrepressible play of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong in the middle of the park.
Atletico Madrid finally began find their way into the game after the introduction of ex-Barcelona man Memphis Depay.
The Dutch forward forced Inaki Pena into a remarkable stop, with the substitute goalkeeper being at full stretch to tip a free kick onto the crossbar.
Pena was forced into another stunning save just before the final whistle by Angel Correa, stretching out his left arm to deflect a venomous strike clear of danger.
It was a stunning save that ensured Joao Felix’s goal was enough for Barca to earn a crucial win over their La Liga title rivals on Sunday evening.