In a match against Atletico Madrid on Sunday, Robert Lewandowski led a resurgent Barcelona to a 3-0 victory, keeping their hopes of winning La Liga alive.
Lewandowski put Barcelona in second place, eight points behind Real Madrid, after setting up goals for Joao Felix and Fermin Lopez after scoring one himself. The Catalans became the first club this season to defeat Atletico at the Metropolitano stadium.
Atletico played 120 minutes against Inter Milan in Europe on Wednesday, and while Barcelona defeated Napoli the day before, Simeone’s team started stronger. Pablo Barrios missed a terrific early opportunity, while Pau Cubarsi, a 17-year-old starlet, stopped Alvaro Morata’s shot. But after 38 minutes, Barcelona took the lead.
Ilkay Gundogan passed forward from midfield and found Lewandowski, who set up a pass for Felix to score against his former club.
After Rodrigo de Paul gave the ball away in a dangerous area, Lewandowski quickly doubled Barcelona’s advantage with a deadly finish.
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a brilliant save to deny Marcos Llorente, but Atletico got tired from their midweek exploits.
Lopez scored Barcelona’s third goal after Lewandowski set him up with an inch-perfect cross, and the veteran Polish striker delivered one of his greatest performances for the club.
