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Dembouz's wondergoal, Araujo's heroics, Torres vs Savic & more: Highlights of Barcelona's win at Atleti (video)

Barca @ Youtube

 away at Wanda on Sunday. The win allowed the Catalans to go three points clear of Madrid at the top.

 scored the winning goal in the 20th minute after a brilliant combination started by 

Barcelona dominated possession but could have conceded, with Gimenez and 

 and Stefan Savic engaged in an on-the-pitch WWE match and both saw deserved red cards.

 made a dramatic goal-line clearance on Griezmann's effort from a point-blank rage in added time.

Barcelona's biggest strength in Atleti win — not Pedri

 deserves all the flowers for Dembouz's goal, as the midfielder showed excellent technique and awareness to create it out of nowhere. However, no matter how good the 20-year-old was, there was a bigger factor in the Catalans' victory.

Barcelona showed that they have one of the best defences in the world right now. The 

 backline contained most advances by the hosts, allowing them just three big chances — Gimenez's header that went wide, Griezmann's shot that was saved by Ter Stegen and Araujo's goalline clearance.

Barca's biggest strength in Atleti win was their defence:

Atletico had 20 shots (5 on target), but most of them weren't particularly dangerous. The hosts registered an xG (expected goals) of 1.42 as their forwards weren't getting any space in Barca's box.

The four Barca defenders recorded the staggering 15 ball recoveries, with Alex Balde particularly impressing, having won possession five times. 

Here’s an example of it — the cleanest tackle no matter how many times per second Simeone waves his hands:

In addition to doing their job — which is to defend — extremely well, the backline helped Barca dominate possession. Xavi's men kept the ball for 60% of the game, recording 634 passes. Defenders were crucial in circulating the ball, with Christensen alone making 86 passes. Naturally, the majority are sideways but not all — here’s an example of him moving the ball forward:

Christensen moves up the pitch, hesitating to pass which actually keeps four Atletico players guessing as to his next move.

And then he passes the ball to Ansu Fati. It looks easy but only after the pass is made the Atletico players switch their attention away from the Dane.

After so many years of struggling at the back, Barcelona seem to have finally found their best defence. The Catalans have conceded just six goals in 16 league games so far this season — it's clear that Blaugrana's new-found defensive solidity is key to them being top of the table right now.

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0_UA_Inread

Araujo  must be  our Captain  for next season .
Along with Kounde  we can build  a decent defence .
We  obviously need a  quality RB .
Araujo  is  our  present day Puyol  so  he must  be Capatani !

barcelonafan1622151469303423862

it seems after the first goal we completly lost it. it was a miracle we didnt conceed yesterday. Thanks to heroics from arujo an ter stegen. We thank God for the 3 points. Arujo definitely deserves ther arm band next season

Egbe Patrick

That guy is Pepe in Barca jersey playing midfield 😂😂

Leonard Osadu

gavi seriously needs anger management classes

Player		G
Artem Dovbyk	Girona	17
Ante Budimir	Osasuna	16
Jude Bellingham	Real Madrid	16
Borja Borja Mayoral	Getafe	15
Gorka Gorka Guruzeta	Athletic Bilbao	14

Dembouz's wondergoal, Araujo's heroics, Torres vs Savic & more: Highlights of Barcelona's win at Atleti (video)

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