FC Barcelona managed to win in the final minutes against Atlético Madrid (2-1), widening the gap at the top of La Liga over Real Madrid, who were defeated by Mallorca on Saturday during the 30th matchday.
Atlético opened the scoring with Giuliano Simeone (39th minute) before being equalized by Marcus Rashford (42nd minute) and reduced to ten players after Nico Gonzalez’s expulsion before halftime. Shortly after coming on, Robert Lewandowski (87th minute) secured the victory for the league leaders (76 points), who now have a seven-point lead over Real Madrid (2nd with 69 points). Barcelona and Atlético will face each other on Wednesday in Catalonia in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal (return leg on April 14th).
The Real Madrid slip-up
Real Madrid fell to Mallorca on Saturday in La Liga (2-1), despite Kylian Mbappé returning as a starter. Surprised by a run-in goal from Spanish midfielder Manu Morlanes just before halftime (42nd minute, 1-0), the Merengues thought they had secured a draw with a last-minute header from Brazilian defender Eder Militao (88th minute, 1-1) after four months out. However, they conceded again in stoppage time to a clear strike from Kosovar striker Vedat Muriqi (90th+1 minute, 2-1) that beat goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, standing in for the injured Thibaut Courtois.
French forward Kylian Mbappé, starting for the first time since the end of February and his knee injury, had the best chances of the game but was repeatedly denied by the inspired goalkeeper Leo Roman (23rd, 25th, 55th minute). “For me, it was easier to see how tough this match was going to be. What’s more complicated is for the players to understand that today, without giving 200%, we wouldn’t be able to win,” Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa commented, stating that this fifth league defeat of the season was “on him.”
