Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona result, final score as Ousmane Dembele goal gives Barca win, lead atop La Liga table

Kyle Bonn

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Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona result, final score as Ousmane Dembele goal gives Barca win, lead atop La Liga table image

It wasn’t exactly a glittering performance, but the result will matter far more as Barcelona passed a tough test to build a three-point advantage at the top of the La Liga table by beating Atletico Madrid 1-0 in the Spanish capital.

Ousmane Dembele’s 21st minute goal was enough to see out the result in an otherwise drab affair that featured more discussions with the match official than chances on goal.

Atletico Madrid were especially wasteful, making poor choices in the attacking third on multiple occasions as they squandered their few opportunities in front of net. The hosts finally sprung to life in second-half injury time, but it was too little too late as Ronald Araujo came up with a huge block off the line at the death to keep Antoine Griezmann out. The moment was a fitting cap to the Frenchman’s especially disappointing evening.

The match was ugly at times throughout the 90 minutes, coming to a head as both Stefan Savic and Ferran Torres were sent off in stoppage time after a wrestling match off the ball. 

The end result sees Barcelona go three points clear at the top of the La Liga table, creating a gap above second-placed Real Madrid after Los Blancos fell to Villarreal a day earlier.

MORE: La Liga top goalscorers for 2022/23 season as players chase suspended Lewandowski

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona final score

  1H 2H Score
Atletico Madrid 0 0 0
Barcelona 1 0 1

Goals:
21st min — BAR — Ousmane Dembele

Starting lineups:

Atletico Madrid (4-4-2, right to left): 13. Oblak (GK) — Reinildo (Sergio Reguilon, 82'), 2. Gimenez, 23. 15. Savic, 16. Molina — 14. Llorente, 6. Koke (Lemar, 74'), 34. Barrios (Kondogbia, 65'), 21. Carrasco (Morata, 65') — 8. Griezmann, 7. Felix (Correa, 74').

Barcelona (4-4-2, right to left): 1. Ter Stegen (GK) — 23. Kounde, 15. Christensen, 4. Araujo, 28. Balde (Alonso, 82') — 30. Gavi (Raphinha, 74'), 5. Busquets (Sergi Roberto, 82'), 21. De Jong (Kessie, 58'), 8. Pedri — 10. Fati (Torres, 58'), 7. Dembele.

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona post-match analysis

Barcelona defensively strong, but weak up front without Lewandowski

Barcelona defenders Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen will get the plaudits from this match, and rightly so for their gritty performance. In truth, the entire Barcelona lineup should see some kind of respect after this 90 minutes which proved they won't back down from an opponent hoping to grind them down physically.

Still, it's tough to come away from this match and not be worried about Barcelona's attacking unit in the absence of Robert Lewandowski, who is suspended for two more games. Xavi chose to play two natural wingers in Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati up front in a strike partnership, and while Dembele got his goal, Fati's more central role was a flop.

With Ferran Torres now sure to be banned for multiple games after his red card for violent conduct, Xavi may have a think about deploying Memphis Depay, who was quality for the Netherlands at the World Cup once he returned from injury. If Depay isn't used now, when will he ever see minutes at the Camp Nou?

Antoine Griezmann fails to bring World Cup form back to Spain

While the entire Atletico Madrid attack failed miserably in this match and shouldn't escape criticism, it was the disastrous performance of Antoine Griezmann that was the most glaring.

After putting in a sensational four weeks in Qatar, Griezmann has returned to the club level and fallen flat, with today's performance a perfect example of his failings since. His set-pieces were poor, his shot selection was horrendous, and his finishing failed the test as well.

Griezmann completed just 10 of his 22 attempted passes, and of his whopping seven shots on the evening, three were blocked and only two reached the intended target. Diego Simeone may have a long think about moving Griezmann back into the midfield role he excelled in at the World Cup, rather than this advanced position he has been utilized in since returning from Qatar.

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona live updates, highlights, commentary

FULLTIME: Atletico Madrid 0-1 Barcelona

That's all at the Wanda Metropolitano, as Atletico Madrid fall short despite Barcelona not at their best. It's a disappointing evening from both sides, but moreso for the hosts as they were extremely wasteful in front of goal and now sit outside the La Liga's top four.

For Barcelona, it was far from pretty, but they hang on at the end to build a small lead at the top of the Spanish top-flight. The most impressive players were the centre-backs Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen, who both had big moments to help keep Atleti off the scoresheet.

Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona: Second Half

90+6 min: With a free-kick opportunity centrally above the 18-yard box, Antoine Griezmann blasts into the wall, deflected out for a corner by Ronald Araujo. Jan Oblak is up for the ensuing corner, but it's cleared well without a shot on net. Time ticking down...

90+4 min: Chance, Atletico Madrid! WHAT A BLOCK FROM ARAUJO! Antoine Griezmann is denied at the doorstep! A wonderful vertical ball springs Angel Correa, and he feed the Frenchman in front of net, and while at first it seemed that Marc-Andre ter Stegen had produced an incredible save, replay showed that it actually beat the German goalkeeper, and Ronald Araujo had actually blocked the effort off the line. Sensational stop to save the match!

90+2 min: DOUBLE RED CARD! Stefan Savic is sent off, and then Ferran Torres sees red as well! Replay shows the two are locked in a wrestling match in the penalty area that's more appropriate for WWE than a football match. It felt unfair at first as Savic was shown red, but after giving it a real thought and maybe taking word in his ear from his officiating team, Torres is rightly sent to the showers as well. Both teams down to 10 men!

90+1 min: Finally the hosts have a great move forward, but it comes to nothing, and the official waves away the protests for a penalty! Andreas Christensen has to head away a fantastic delivery on the doorstep that was headed for a tap-in, and then as the ball is cycled back in, Alvaro Morata goes down with his back to goal, with the shouts falling on deaf ears.

89th min: Thomas Lemar is the latest Atletico Madrid player to waste a chance, as he cuts laterally across the top of the penalty area and rips a shot wide across his body and past the right post. A very disappointing day for the hosts in front of goal. They haven't had many good chances, in part because they've wasted moves with very poor shot selections.

87th min: Raphinha earns a yellow card as he's earned the ire of the official, refusing on multiple occasions to go to the touchline after medical treatment was called onto the pitch after he went down defending against Marcos Llorente. Looked like he took a whack on the head from Llorente's trailing leg, but he was up quickly. Still, the official told him to go off and he repeatedly refused, so he's booked. Teammates have to intervene before he sees red for no reason.

85th min: Now a yellow card for Nahuel Molina as he trips Franck Kessie extremely late after the Nigerian had slid well past him. Atletico look more frustrated than anything, as they don't seem good for an equaliser. Neither side seems likely to pick out another goal, to be fair.

82nd min: As play restarts from the substitutions, Andreas Christensen picks up a yellow card for fouling Franck Kessie. This free-kick is too deep for a real effort on goal, but we'll see what Atleti comes up with here. Antoine Griezmann stands over it...and it's awful, as his vertical delivery goes way out of reach and out of play.

79th min: Yellow card to Angel Correa for rifling the ball away with emphasis. It's one thing to kick the ball out of play, it's another to boot it 50 yards. Everyone can have a laugh about that one later.

More changes coming for Barcelona, as Sergi Roberto and Marcos Alonso enter for Sergio Busquets and Alex Balde. Sergio Regulion enters for Atletico Madrid in place of Reinildo. That's all five changes for both sides, there are no more available for either team.

77th min: Antoine Griezmann with a brainless moment, taking aim on goal from miles away and a very tight angle. He had teammates arriving, that was not the moment to have a go on frame. He sent the effort into the Madrid night.

73rd min: Chance, Barcelona! Ferran Torres has the ball in the back of the net but it's ruled out for offside! Off a corner, the ball pinged around and fell luckily to Torres' feet, put there on a platter by Ronald Araujo's head. Torres seemed to know it immediately, and the replay shows it was an accurate call.

Two more changes for Atletico Madrid as Thomas Lemar and Angel Correa enter for Joao Felix and Koke. Xavi counters as Raphinha comes on for Gavi.

69th min: Ousmane Dembele rips a shot through the legs of a defender and wide of the far post. It came from a slow-paced Barcelona move forward that appeared to have been played through mud, and Dembele's shot was more out of frustration at having no other options than a real sight on goal. Indicative of this second half on the whole.

Then Ferran Torres commits an obvious foul in midfield, dragging back an opponent, but play is allowed to continue. The official has tried his hardest to bring some flow to this match, but the no-calls have had the opposite effect. Both sides are getting away with too much, and it's making both sides more confident in their cynicism.

66th min: A very nasty tackle from Alex Balde with his studs high to clean out Nahuel Molina earns a whistle from the match official but no further action. Diego Simeone is not happy about that, and he waves an imaginary card in protest. Atletico Madrid continue to push for an equaliser, they've been the better side this half, but it's still been cagey.

65th min: A pair of changes for Atletico Madrid now as Diego Simeone brings on Alvaro Morata, who was excellent at the World Cup for Spain and will feel hard done by not to have started the match. Geoffrey Kondogbia also comes on, with young Pedro Barrios and Yannick Carrasco off.

62nd min: Chance, Barcelona! Somehow, Ousmane Dembele gets through the Atletico Madrid defensive line on a speculative 60-yard punt from the Barca defense. The recovering defenders do well to push Dembele just wide enough to cut down the shooting angle, and then Jan Oblak makes the save. The ensuing corner is saved.

56th min: First yellow card of the match comes to Ronald Araujo who goes in studs up on Koke. Replay shows he got the ball first, but he then goes through the shins of the Atletico Madrid captain.

Franck Kessie and Ferran Torres are being readied on the Barcelona touchline, and they enter for Frenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati.

54th min: Chance, Atletico Madrid! Diego Simeone has a big applause on the sideline as Antoine Griezmann fires a great chance into the sky. It's fizzed in from the right flank, and Griezmann is right there on the penalty spot to redirect it on goal, but its sent to the moon. The Atleti boss is happy with what he's seen since the break, however.

52nd min: Since the early Atleti pressure, the game has once again devolved into a physical midfield battle. Ousmane Dembele fouled. Xavi makes a gesture to the bench and gives some instructions to his assistants, causing a stir on the Barcelona bench. Changes imminent.

47th min: It's Atletico Madrid who have started the way they finished the first half, which may give Xavi a though of making an early second-half change, maybe searching for another attacker to trouble the Atletico back line and give the midfield more options forward. Memphis Depay and Ferran Torres could be options.

Kickoff: The second half is under way, with no changes for either side, which isn't exactly surprising, as both managers will have reason to be pleased with various parts of the first 45 minutes.

HALFTIME: Atletico Madrid 0-1 Barcelona

Barcelona go into the break clinging to a 1-0 lead on Ousmane Dembele's goal, but it took much defending as the first half waned. Atletico Madrid are unfortunate not to go into halftime having found an equalising goal.

Overall, the match was expectedly physical and choppy, even as referee Jose Montero did his best to keep his whistle in his pocket. There's very little flow, and it's possible that both head coaches could stick with their players as the second half begins looking to get more of the same.

If anyone would make changes, it could be Xavi as Barcelona may need to shore things up given how the first half came to a close.

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona: First half

45+1 min: It's an absolute onslaught by Atletico Madrid, who are pushing for an equaliser, as the ball is cycled laterally across the top of the penalty area through Joao Felix and Marcos Llorente, but Nahuel Molina's finish from a tight angle skitters wide of the far post, another disappointing finish from the Atletico Madrid full-back.

43rd min: Chance, Atletico Madrid! Close again! On the ensuing corner, Reinildo gets his head to it but doesn't get the precision right, redirecting the ball past the far post, needing a bit more of an acute angle to get it on net. Ter Stegen was rooted to the spot, that would have been in had it been on target.

This is a flurry of Atleti pressure as the halftime break nears. Barcelona can't get a kick of the ball.

42nd min: Chance, Atletico Madrid! Antoine Griezmann nearly produces a stunner, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen is there to make the stop! The Frenchman makes an awkward turn, contorting his body near the top of the area, and while his shot is on frame, it's central, and the Barcelona goalkeeper can parry it out for a corner.

37th min: A selfish, disappointing finish from Nahuel Molina as the full-back takes aim at goal from a tight angle, when he had much better options centrally. Not what Diego Simeone will want from that attack at pace.

33rd min: Chance, Atletico Madrid! On the ensuing corner, Jose Gimenez puts a MASSIVE chance wide! The centre-back comes absolutely flying in with a towering header to meet the set-piece, skying to meet the ball, but he puts his powerful delivery just wide with the goal gaping. It's a huge missed opportunity for the Uruguayan defender. That's the home side's best chance by far to this point.

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31st min: Atletico Madrid have their first chance of the match, but it's covered well by a pair of Barcelona defenders and Marcos Llorente's shot is blocked by Ronald Araujo. There's a quick VAR check for a possible handball with Araujo's left arm outstretched on the block, but luckily the ball squeaks by it barely without making contact.

30th min: Just as Steve McManaman on the ESPN broadcast starts to criticise the Atletico Madrid players for failing to match Barcelona's physicality, Reinildo fouls Gavi on the touchline which gets the crowd into the match. It's a clear foul, but as McManaman points out, at least it gets the fans involved a bit.

24th min: Chance, Barcelona! Oh it's an AWFUL mistake from Nahuel Molina, whose back-pass is horrifically behind Stefan Savic, gifting Gavi a free chance on goal, but it's blocked by Koke who recovers in time. YIKES on that one, not exactly a highlight moment.

21st min: GOAL! BARCELONA! In a choppy match, a few seconds of fluidity pays off for Barcelona and they take the lead. Pedri squeezes by a trio of defenders with a high-quality dribble, and gets it across to Gavi with his back to goal. He then picks out Ousmane Dembele free at the far post, and it's a calm, collected finish past Jan Oblak for the lead.

VAR is checking for a possible foul on Gavi in the buildup, but there's nothing in that, as he's simply backing down his defender.

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18th min: Atletico Madrid very nearly open Barcelona up on the counter, with Marcos Llorente getting onto a ball down the right. He squares it for Joao Felix streaking into the top of the penalty area, but it's behind the striker and gets ushered out by Andreas Christensen for a corner. The set-piece chance is messy but ultimately cleared by Barcelona.

17th min: Aside from the one blocked shot by Fati, there has been very little action in this match so far. Barcelona have held the majority of the possession, but Atletico Madrid are quite organized and contesting hard in midfield. Neither team has really even broken into the opposition's danger zone 25 yards from goal.

10th min: Chance, Barcelona! The first move forward for Barcelona produces a big opportunity for Ansu Fati, who's slid through by a great through ball from Gavi, but his shot is blocked by a sliding Jose Gimenez who came in from no-man's land to stop the effort.

6th min: Atletico Madrid do indeed force a turnover in the Barcelona half, and it produces the first shot of the match as young Pedro Barrios turns and fires, but it's right at Marc-Andre ter Stegen. That won't beat La Liga's most in-form goalkeeper. Still, warning signs for Barcelona who won't want to lose the ball that deep in their own half.

5th min: Slow, choppy start to the match with a lot of down time. Barcelona looking to knock the ball around a bunch, evading the high Atletico Madrid press for the most part. Hosts are still pushing for turnovers in advanced positions.

Kickoff: The game is under way! There's lots on the line here today, especially for the league leaders who will want to secure points and pull away from rivals Real Madrid.

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona: Pre-match

8 mins to kickoff: The match is drawing closer! There's plenty at stake for both sides. Barcelona can open up a gap on Real Madrid at the top of the table after Los Blancos fell to Villarreal yesterday. Atletico Madrid can pull back into the top four after dropping behind Real Betis following yesterday's results.

23 mins to kickoff: Barcelona boss Xavi has rotated defenders this season due to form and injury, but it hasn't really mattered. They've been great through league play this year, conceding just six goals all campaign in La Liga competition.

33 mins to kickoff: Barcelona have historically dominated Atletico Madrid, but of late, the hosts have turned things around a bit, winning two of the last four meetings.

48 mins to kickoff: Barcelona will be in their gold kits today, which are a sharp look.

65 mins to kickoff: The Atletico Madrid lineup is in as well, and there's a formation change on their end as well. Diego Simeone has also moved to a 4-4-2, from his usual three-CB system. Axel Witsel is dropped, while Koke is preferred in midfield. Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann start in the attack, with Alvaro Morata sat despite his good World Cup form.

75 mins to kickoff: The Barcelona lineup is already out, and it's a surprising one, as Xavi has gone with four midfielders in a lineup shift, moving to a 4-4-2 from the usual 4-3-3. Both Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong are in the lineup, alongside youngsters Pedri and Gavi.

Up front, neither Memphis Depay or Ferran Torres start in place of the suspended Robert Lewandowski. Instead, it's wingers Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele, both natural wingers, who deputise as the strike partnership.

87 mins to kickoff: The Atletico Madrid bus has arrived at the Wanda Metropolitano, with this match under two hours until kickoff.

Diego Simeone has a number of players to choose from in midfield, one of the more fascinating lineup situations on either side of this match. He could move Axel Witsel into midfield or leave him at centre-back, which will influence the rest of the moves. It will be interesting to see if Thomas Lemar can break the side, having barely played this season.

95 mins to kickoff: The Blaugrana are struggling for defenders at the moment thanks to a few injuries. They're reportedly in discussions with the representatives of Benjamin Pavard, who wants out of Bayern Munich and is out of contract this summer. It's unlikely a move would be secured this winter, but he could be someone to arrive this summer.

You can see all the Barcelona transfer rumors this winter here.

120 mins to kickoff: Barcelona will be without two starters due to suspension in this match, most notably Robert Lewandowski, who serves a three-match suspension. Meanwhile, Jordi Alba was sent off last time out, triggering a one-match ban.

There are capable replacements for both. Ferran Torres has largely been a disappointment this season, so Xavi could look to Memphis Depay up front, after the Dutchman played well in Qatar once returning from injury. Meanwhile, Alex Balde is young but has done well in his few minutes playing behind Alba.

MORE: Read the details regarding Robert Lewandowski's three-match suspension

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona lineups & team news

The biggest question for Diego Simeone was how to deploy his three attackers in Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata, and Joao Felix. Rumors continue to swirl about Felix's future at Atleti, but that doesn't affect his standing within the squad, starting alongside Griezmann with Morata on the bench.

There's a formational change as Simeone moves to a 4-4-2, dropping Axel Witsel while Koke and Reinildo enter the mix.

Mario Hermoso is suspended after being sent off in their last La Liga match.

Predicted Atletico Madrid XI (3-5-2): Oblak (GK) — Reinildo, Gimenez, Savic, Molina — Llorente, Koke, Barrios, Carrasco — Griezmann, Felix

Atletico Madrid subs (12): Grbic (GK), Gomis, Moreno, Felipe, Lemar, Regulion, Witsel, Saul, De Paul, Kondogbia, Correa, Morata.

With Xavi having rotated his squad heavily for the midweek Copa del Rey match, it's tough to know who will remain and who will drop to the bench this weekend. Sergio Busquets was the biggest question mark, as the 34-year-old will want to avoid overuse, but he starts, interestingly alongside Frenkie de Jong in a new look 4-4-2 formation.

One player who won't be involved is Robert Lewandowski who is in the midst of a three-match suspension after being sent off in a match before the World Cup break. His ban was put off briefly for appeal, allowing him to take part in the draw with Espanyol last weekend, but it was upheld in court, so he is out of action for three games.

It was thought either Memphis Depay or Ferran Torres ccould take that spot up front, with the former having started midweek against Intercity FC, but Xavi surprised many by pairing natural wingers Ousmane Dembele and Ansu Fati up front. Jordi Alba is also suspended, meaning Alex Balde is deployed at full-back.

MORE: All the latest Barcelona transfer news for the 2023 January window

Confirmed Barcelona XI (4-4-2): Ter Stegen (GK) — Kounde, Christensen, Alonso, Balde — Gavi, Busquets De Jong, Pedri — Fati, Dembele.

Barcelona subs (11): Pena (GK), Tenas (GK), Roberto, Alonso, Bellerin, Garcia, Torre, Kessie, Raphinha, Depay, Torres.

How to watch Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona

Here's how to watch all of the action from this match in some of the major territories:

  TV channel Streaming
USA —  ESPN+
Canada — TSN app, TSN.ca
UK LaLiga TV, ITV4 ITVX, Viaplay Sports
Australia — Optus Sport
New Zealand Sky Sport 7 beIN Sports beIN Sports Connect
India — Voot Select
Hong Kong Now Sports 2 Now Player
Malaysia beIN Sports sooka, beIN Sports Connect
Singapore beIN Sports StarHub TV+, beIN Sports Connect

UK: La Liga matches in the UK are carried on LaLiga TV and ITV, with ITV's streaming platform ITVX available for online viewing.

USA: All La Liga matches in the United States are shown on ESPN's premium streaming service ESPN+, requiring a subscription to view.

Canada: All La Liga matches in Canada are available via TSN's streaming options.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport. 

Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona betting odds & lines

Odds via BetMGM (USA), Sports Interaction (Canada), SkyBet (UK), & Ladbrokes (Australia).

Barcelona are favored in this match, but they still sport plus odds as bookmakers give Atletico Madrid a fighting chance thanks to their recent good form.

Part of that will be down to the individual players available for selection. Robert Lewandowski's absence certainly plays a factor, while Atletico sport Antoine Griezmann, one of the best players at the 2022 World Cup and in great form.

  BetMGM Sports
Interaction		 SkyBet Ladbrokes
Atletico win +210 2.95 2/1 2/1
Draw +240 3.31 12/5 23/10
Barcelona win +125 2.27 13/10 13/10
Both teams
to score Y / N		 -145 / +100 1.64 / 2.00 4/6, 11/10 4/6, 11/10
Over / Under
2.5 goals		 -120 / -115 1.83 / 1.87 5/6, 5/6 5/6, 20/23
BAR -0.5 +115 2.24 — —
ATM +0.5 -165 1.61 — —

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.