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| Robert Lewandowski disappointed after defeat | Photo: AFP |
Barcelona dropped points again. This time to Atletico Madrid. Hansi Flick's team lost 2-1 to Atletico at home in La Liga on Saturday night. This is the first time Barcelona has lost to Atletico at home since 2006. It is also the sixth time in the last seven matches that they have dropped points.
On such a disappointing night, the Barcelona coach said his team 'I promised we will fight for everything'. The Catalan team's next match after Christmas is in January.
Barcelona could have left the field with at least 1 point against Atletico in the match held at the Olympic Stadium. After Pedri gave Barca the lead in the 30th minute, Rodrigo de Paul made up for it in the 60th minute. With the match tied 1-1, Alexandre Sarlat scored in the sixth minute of added time to give Atletico the win. This was Atletico's 12th consecutive victory in all competitions.
The winning also moved Diego Simeone's team to the top of the points table. Atletico have 41 points from 18 matches with 12 wins and 5 draws. Barcelona, having played one more match, have 38 points, and are in second place.
However, Barcelona was 10 points ahead of Atletico at the beginning of November. They won 11 of their first 12 matches in this season's league. In the next seven matches, they lost four and drew two, against just one win.
Standing in such a disappointing chapter, the Barcelona coach said, "Now it's time for a break. And we all need a break. This loss (against Atletico) is disappointing for us. Because we played the match well. Now we will celebrate Christmas. Then we will start training and see what we can do for the rest of the season."
Flick is not too worried about losing points despite starting the season well. He said that second place in the league points table is also good, saying, "Yes, after three great months, we are not at the top now, losing points in a row. But at the end of the day, we are still in a good position. Especially in terms of where we want to go. I am not worried about (the points table). The team is playing well. They showed in this match how well they can play. That is our standard from now on."