Betting Analysis
Looking at the 1×2 market first. The favourite for the game was Barcelona who drifted slightly before kick-off but ended up winning as the ‘jollies’. Barcelona rose from 2.24 to around 2.32 before kick-off but scored early and held on, though in truth they were not fully justified in the win.
Moving onto the Asian handicap market for this contest. Barcelona -0.25 were the winners @ 2.03 but backers are fortunate to claim the full win, as a draw would have been the best they deserved. Atletico Madrid had to come from behind but they missed three clear scoring chances and dominated much of the second period, including a sitter which Griezmann missed in added time.
Looking at the Under / Over goal market where the line was set at 2.5. As mentioned in the preview it was always going to be a tight game where both sat on a lead, as was emphatically the case with Barcelona after scoring on 22 minutes. Under won @ 1.88 and was certainly the way to go on this market. As many Atlético matches, even with the early goal the contest remained tight and was hectic more than entertaining.
Match Summary
Atletico Madrid was the better of the two clubs on the day but was punished for crucial missed chances, and ended up frustrated as a disciplined Barcelona side ended up escaping with all three points having scored early.
Barcelona stretched their unbeaten La Liga run to seven courtesy of a determined 0-1 away win at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Dembele took his goal perfectly on his wrong foot after a good run from Pedri and from then on, Barcelona showed an impressive ugly side to dig in and hold onto a vital win, albeit fortunate based on chances and the game overall.
Real Madrid’s loss at Villarreal meant Barcelona had been gifted an opportunity to reopen a lead at the top. Diego Simeone’s side was never going to be easy however a fast-paced and open contest ensued.
Pedri was the Blaugrana’s brightest spark and was heavily involved as Barça took a first-half lead, beating a handful of defenders before sliding across to eventually find Ousmane Dembélé. The winger looked composed on his finish which was ultimately to be the winner.
Atlético ended the first half in the ascendancy and had their foot firmly on the ball again after the restart.
Barcelona’s defence was extremely committed and strong. They proved difficult to overcome but did concede a couple of big chances in the second half where they say back. Griezmann missed two excellent openings against his former club, one of them was a guilt-edged chance with the keeper out of his goal.
On a rare break, Dembele struck the post after speeding past the hosts’ defence.
Stefan Savic and Ferran Torres both saw red for a late altercation, but Barcelona held on. Fair score 1-1.
