It’s clipped in by Tripper, who aims for a crowd of bodies that features Oblak, but it’s turned away at the first time of asking! That should be that!
90' +2
Messi goes into a sliding challenge outside his own penalty area on the right, near the corner flag, giving away a free-kick to Atleti. This will be their last chance of the match!
90'
The fourth official indicates three additional minutes of stoppage time.
87'
Renan Lodi enters the game and replaces H. Herrera.
Herrera is immediately withdrawn following the goal, with Renan Lodi his replacement.
86'
L. Messi has scored a goal for Barcelona! Assist by L. Suárez.
MESSI MAKES THE DIFFERENCE! It simply had to be the Barcelona captain! He plays a neat one-two pass with Suarez around the edge of the penalty area and dispatches a shot that beats Oblak at the bottom left corner! 1-0 Barcelona!
Suarez, of course, is involved in the goal as his perfectly weighted pass for Messi is the assist.
83'
S. Umtiti enters the game and replaces Piqué.
The earlier challenge on Pique leaves him unable to see out the final seven minutes. Umititi is charged with closing out the match.
79'
Play is stopped as Pique is down holding his leg following a studs-up challenge by Vitolo. The centre-back attempts to get up and carry on, but he’s back down in a heap in an instant. Vitolo escapes a second booking, but the defender looks like he wont be able to carry on.
75'
Trippier launches it long for Morata, but the striker is unable to turn his half-volley goalwards in the presence of Pique who closed down the angle.
73'
A. Vidal enters the game and replaces Arthur.
T. Lemar enters the game and replaces Á. Correa.
Felipe gets yellow.
Felipe is booked for a challenge in midfield after a wonderful goal-scoring opportunity for Atleti goes begging, as Morata’s backheel pass cant be turned in at the far post, despite taking Ter Stegen out of the picture.
Barcelona make a change as Vidal is in for Arthur.
Correa was already booked earlier in the match and he won’t be risked for the final 20 minutes. Lemar is his replacement.
Minute
Description
71'
CONTROVERSY! Pique is already booked but he slides in on Morata, not making contact with the player, but missing the ball too and forcing the striker to jump out of the way! It’s a free-kick for Atleti, but the home support are incensed that Pique didn’t receive his marching orders.
69'
Vitolo gets yellow.
After the passage of play, the referee pulls it back and awards Vitolo a yellow for his sliding challenge on Messi.
66'
Vitolo enters the game and replaces João Félix.
Joao Felix is withdrawn with 24 minutes remaining - as Vitolo is given a chance to make his mark.
65'
C. Lenglet gets yellow.
Lenglet is booked for tugging back Morata, who had just escaped the centre-back’s reaches.
62'
Messi on the edge of the penalty area cracks a shot but he’s blocked by a well-placed defender. The follow-up effort from Firpo is also closed down - as Atleti escape unscathed.
60'
Messi gets away from the presence of Morata, before hitting a shot at Oblak that requires the goalkeeper to palm it down before grabbing it at the second time of asking.
58'
Joao Felix is bundled over by Lenglet, who commits to the challenge in order to give himself time to get back into position.
56'
Trippier takes a deep corner, forcing Herrera to give chase just to keep it in play, but he’s beaten by the pace of the delivery as Barcelona recover possession through a throw.
54'
Rakitic floats a deep cross to the right for Roberto, who heads it towards the centre of the penalty area - though Suarez and Griezmann are too late to the ball as Atletico clear the danger.
51'
I. Rakitić gets yellow.
Rakitic catches Morata, stepping on the right foot of the forward in midfield, which earns him a yellow card.
50'
Messi cuts inside and beats Thomas on his way up the edge of the 18-yard box, but his incisive pass for Griezmann is cut out by Trippier, who anticipated the pass well.
48'
Firpo finds Griezmann just outside the penalty area and the former Atleti striker sweeps a shot towards goal for Oblak to save with confidence.
46'
Barcelona get the match restarted from the kick-off!
45'
HALF-TIME: ATLETICO MADRID 0-0 BARCELONA.
43'
PIQUE PUTS IT OFF THE CROSSBAR! Unbelievable scenes at the Metropolitano as the Barcelona centre-back powers a header towards Oblak’s goal following a corner, beating the goalkeeper but putting his attempt off the bar! There’s certainly no shortage of opportunities in this match!
39'
Artur takes a Barcelona corner, but he puts the cross right into Oblak’s range, where he gathers with sure hands.
35'
The corner is taken to the far post, but it’s overhit for Suarez as it drifts out for a goal-kick.
34'
A delightful ball is hit over the top for Messi which gets him into the penalty area, but Hermoso jockeys him and ushers the Argentina captain outside the area - where he pokes it out for a corner.
32'
Piqué gets yellow.
Pique is shown a yellow card for holding Joao Felix back as the Portugal international was surging towards goal.
29'
Trippier takes a long throw-in towards Morata who flicks it on with his head, but he’s deemed to have pushed off on Firpo - giving Barcelona a free-kick.
27'
Barcelona are seemingly finding their feet as Rakitic forces a great save out of Oblak following a Messi assist and Suarez dummy - but despite not capitalising, they maintain possession and build again.
21'
Á. Correa gets yellow.
Correa goes into a slide tackle needlessly, taking De Jong down with no intent to play the ball. He receives the third booking of the game for his rush of blood.
18'
J. Firpo gets yellow.
Firpo is once again caught in a bind as Correa receives a pass inches outside the penalty area and looks to use his physicality to back into the box - but the left-back drags him to the pitch. Atleti have a free-kick in a great position. The Barcelona player is also booked for the infringement.
15'
Firpo gives Herrera a push from behind near the touchline, and the midfielder goes over - winning his side a crafty free-kick, which Tripper can deliver.
14'
Morata lays it off on the right for the oncoming Trippier, but the cross is defended well by Pique who does enough to get it out of the penalty area before it’s put out for an Atleti throw-in.
12'
Barcelona are enjoying their first spell of sustained possession, but Atleti are not allowing the Blaugrana midfield to settle. The best they can manage is a long, sweeping pass over the top for De Jong, which is corralled out of play by Hermoso.
10'
The hosts are proving to be a handful in the opening 10 minutes as Morata gets to the edge of the six-yard box with his back to goal, but Pique comes storming across to put it out for a corner.
8'
T. Partey gets yellow.
Thomas is booked early in the proceedings for a poor tackle in midfield. He’s always likely to pick up a card - though he’ll now be under scrutiny for the rest of the match.
5'
Griezmann has had his first few touches of the match and was received with boos and whistles as he returns to the club where he spent five years - scoring 133 times in 257 matches in all competitions.
3'
Lenglet gives the ball back to Morata following an awkward volleyed pass in midfield, but the defender’s blushes are spared when the referee awards Barcelona a free-kick for handball.
1'
Atleti get the match underway from the kick-off!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the LaLiga fixture between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona!
It’s one of the Spanish football's best fixtures as Atleti welcome Barcelona to the Wanda Metropolitano, looking to continue a run of form that sees Simeone’s side 10 unbeaten. It hasn’t been vintage Atletico Madrid however, as they haven’t managed to keep a clean sheet in any competition since October. The hosts currently sit sixth, though a win would bring them up to third - level with today’s opponents Barcelona.
Winners in their last four in all competitions, Barcelona hope to make it five in a row, despite not being able to manage a win at Atleti in their last two visits (both 1-1 draws). Real Madrid currently lead the league with 31 points, but a win today would see the Blaugrana go level with their rivals, jumping Sevilla in the process.
BARCELONA SUBS: Carles Alena, Carles Perez, Arturo Vidal, Moussa Wague, Samuel Umtiti, Ansu Fati, Neto.
BARCELONA XI (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Clement Lenglet, Gerard Pique, Junior Firpo; Ivan Rakitic, Frenkie de Jong, Arthur; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann.
ATLETICO SUBS: Marcos Llorente, Vitolo, Thomas Lemar, Ivan Saponjic, Antonio Adan, Renan Lodi, Santiago Arias.
ATLETICO MADRID XI (4-4-2): Jan Oblak; Saul Niguez, Mario Hermoso, Felipe, Kieran Tripper; Koke, Thomas Partey, Hector Herrera, Angel Correa; Alvaro Morata, Joao Felix.
With 10 minutes to go before kick-off, let's take a look at the team news, starting with the hosts!
Atletico Madrid must continue closing down space and pressuring the Barcelona midfield, as Messi is forced to drop deeper to get involved in the play. Firpo has looked unconvincing at left-back, putting pressure on Correa to constantly attack down that flank. The Blaugrana’s bench isn’t as strong as we’ve become accustomed to, though the dynamism of Fati or the tenacity of Vidal could come into play.
That concludes our commentary of the LaLiga fixture between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona! We hope you enjoyed it!
Atletico Madrid are in action again on Friday, when they travel to face Villarreal. Barcelona host Mallorca on Saturday.
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