Who: Atletico Madrid vs BarcelonaWhat: Spanish LaLigaWhere: Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, SpainWhen: Sunday at 9pm (20:00 GMT)Follow Al Jazeera Sport‘s live text and photo commentary stream.
Atletico Madrid doesn’t have much time to linger on its painful Champions League exit against Real Madrid.
Another crucial game awaits on Sunday, this time against Barcelona in the tight battle for the Spanish league title.
Al Jazeera looks ahead to one of the biggest games in the Spanish football calendar:
How are Atletico Madrid and Barcelona faring in LaLiga?
Atletico are a point behind Barcelona in second and four points behind leaders Madrid in the three-way fight for the trophy.
Real have played two more games than Barca and one more than Atletico.
So Diego Simeone’s team can hardly afford to lose on Sunday but must quickly get over another excruciating defeat to their fierce crosstown rival in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez scores a penalty during a penalty shootout that is later disallowed after a VAR review due to a double touch in the Champions League match against Real Madrid on March 12, 2025 [Susana Vera/Reuters]
What happened in Atletico’s Champions League Madrid derby?
Atletico lost in a penalty shootout to Real after Julian Alvarez’s spot kick was disallowed for a double touch. Only a video review spotted the first contact when Alvarez’s support foot slid and gently nudged the ball before he impacted it with his other foot and sent it into the net. Advertisement
“Honestly, it isn’t easy to get over the way we lost this tie. We can’t lie to ourselves,” Simeone said after the match.
Where could the match be won on Sunday?
Simeone acknowledged that Barcelona could have an advantage both physically and emotionally after Hansi Flick’s side got an extra day’s rest after th …
