SAN FRANCISCO, November 22, (THEWILL) – Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s extraordinary error allowed Atletico Madrid score the decisive goal as they beat Barcelona 1-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Saturday’s hard-fought LaLiga contest was settled by a remarkable Yannick Carrasco strike in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.
In just his third appearance for the Blaugrana since returning from a knee injury, Ter Stegen rashly went in pursuit of the ball near the halfway line but was beaten to it by Carrasco, who kept his cool to find the net.
Barca did not recover from that setback and succumbed to a debilitating third league defeat of the season. They incredibly sit at 10th on the table and have now lost Gerard Pique to a knee injury. Ronald Koeman’s teething problems show no sign of easing.
The Catalan side had held their own in a lively start that saw Frenchman Antoine Griezmann stab his volley just over before Ter Stegen dived sharply to his right to make a smart save from Saul Niguez’s 20-yard drive.
Marcos Llorente came closest to open the scoring but blasted against the crossbar in the 11th minute after being slipped through by forward Angel Correa.
Spanish left back Jordi Alba interrupted a subsequent lull in proceedings with a sublime pass between Kieran Trippier’s legs to send Lionel Messi through, but the Barca talisman shot too close to keeper Jan Oblak from a tight angle.
Another nutmeg at the other end changed the game and proved far more costly on the stroke of half-time. Carrasco nudged the ball beyond Ter Stegen, who had inexplicably charged 40 yards from his goal to leave the Atletico winger with a straightforward finish into an empty net.
French centre back Clement Lenglet should have nodded Barca level 11 minutes after the restart but instead directed his header straight at a grateful Oblak. At the hour mark, Pique landed awkwardly under a challenge against Correa and he required assistance to leave down the tunnel.
And Diego Simeone’s men subsequently came on strong again, pushing Barca back the other way to see out a precious victory.
Atletico are at home in midweek action against Lokomotiv Moscow in the Champions League on Wednesday, the day after Barca visit Dynamo Kiev.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
