Barcelona Turns the Tables on Atletico Madrid with a Fermin Brace

Barcelona turned their deficit into a valuable victory over hosts Atletico Madrid 2-1, thanks to a Fermin Lopez brace on Sunday, in the twelfth-round showdown of the Spanish football league.

The Catalan side’s top spot appeared threatened after Argentina’s Juliano Simeoni gave the capital club the lead in the 10th minute, before Lopez turned the tables with a brace in the 45th and 66th minutes, securing three precious points for “Blau-grana” and keeping them at the summit with 33 points, three ahead of their closest rival Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Atletico dropped to third place, two points behind Real, who moved up to second after their 3-0 win over Valencia on Saturday.

The match appeared to be a true test for the team of German coach Hansi Flick, who has struggled to overcome his direct rivals this season, having lost domestically to Real Madrid in the home Clásico 1-2, and then fallen in Europe to French side Paris Saint-Germain 2-4 in the Champions League.