Barcelona maintained its triumphant march in LaLiga by beating Getafe 3-0 this Saturday, while Atlético de Madrid beat Alavés 2-1 with a goal in the final minutes, on the eighth day of the Spanish championship.
Anthony Gordon opened the scoring for the Barça team after just two minutes, Gabriel Jesús extended the lead after half an hour and Jules Koundé sealed the match in the 73rd minute. The team led by Hansi Flick once again demonstrated its superiority despite the rotations introduced after the international break.
“We are playing very well,” Gabriel Jesús told DAZN after the game.
The current league champion did not acknowledge the absences or changes in its lineup, including the loss of Raphinha, who returned from his commitments with the Brazilian team. The victory allowed Barcelona to continue its winning streak and maintain the lead with a five-point advantage over Atlético de Madrid.
The match also served as a tribute to Pedro Rodríguez, world champion with Spain in 2010, who took the kick-off after announcing his retirement from football this week.
Gordon and Gabriel Jesús get the win back on track
Barcelona quickly took the lead thanks to a shot by Anthony Gordon from the edge of the area in the 2nd minute, his first goal in the Barça shirt.
With the score in their favor, the locals controlled the game against a retreating Getafe, who barely managed to worry goalkeeper Joan García.
In the 30th minute, Gabriel Jesús took advantage of an error by Argentine Zaid Romero to recover the ball, go into the center and hit a tight shot against the post. The Brazilian striker, who joined the team in the last window of the transfer market, thus achieved his second goal in four league appearances.
“Playing with these players is very easy and that makes it easier for me to have chances,” explained the attacker.
Barcelona maintained dominance after the break and found the third goal in the 73rd minute, when Koundé finished off Lamine Yamal’s cross from point-blank range.
The French defender celebrated his first goal in LaLiga this season and reached 194 official matches for the Barça team, becoming the French footballer with the most matches played for the club and surpassing Eric Abidal’s record.
Atlético comes back against Alavés with ten
For its part, Atlético de Madrid achieved a hard-fought 2-1 victory on its visit to Alavés. Alejandro Grimaldo put the rojiblancos ahead in the 33rd minute, Lucas Boyé equalized with a penalty in added time of the first half and Cristian Romero scored the decisive goal in the 87th minute.
Atlético had a hard time finding its rhythm against a vertical rival, but it gained ground until Grimaldo completed a combination with Jonathan David to open the scoring.
Alavés reacted before the break, when Boyé converted a penalty committed by Robin Le Normand in the 45th+6 minute.
After the restart, Diego Simeone brought on Julián Álvarez and Álex Baena to increase the offensive intensity. The expulsion of Ángel Pérez in the 61st minute, after a harsh challenge on Álvarez, left the local team numerically inferior.
Atlético took advantage of the advantage to pressure and lock down their rival. Finally, Baena put a cross to the far post and Romero appeared with a header in the 87th minute to seal the comeback.
“We worked in every way to reach the goal and we needed to win this match,” Simeone declared after the match.
The day will conclude this Saturday with the duel between Real Madrid and Villarreal.
