Barcelona avoid a five alarm fire in win against Atlético Madrid

FC Barcelona avoided what could have been a crisis by defeating Atlético Madrid in a 2-1 come-from-behind victory. After a perfect start to the season, Barça slipped to defeats to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League and Real Madrid in La Liga. Those were two survivable wounds, but worse was the implied underlying question: Can Barcelona win big games?

Three straight losses against top-tier opposition would've provoked a panic. And there was a moment where it looked almost likely to happen. Barcelona trailed 1-0 from the opening stages and looked unsure of themselves. Right before the half, Fermín López found a ball rebounded back to him in an opportune position and bent it past the keeper.

Thanks in part due to good substitutions by Hansi Flick, Barcelona seemed calmer in the second half. They got their just rewards when Lamine Yamal played a great throughball for Fermín to latch onto and smash past the opposing keeper to make it 2-1.

Atlético had some chances to claw back an equalizer, but over time, they seemed to tire out. Barcelona played keep-ball for the final minutes and won a crucial win.

Instead of a crisis, Barcelona now feel back on track. They have not conclusively avenged the losses in big games, but they have shown they are capable of it.