Soccer

Ousmane Dembélé on target as Barcelona edge out Atlético Madrid to go clear at top

Catalan side three points clear in La Liga after Real Madrid lost to Villarreal on Saturday

Barcelona's French forward Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring against Atlético Madrid. Photograph: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty
Barcelona's French forward Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring against Atlético Madrid. Photograph: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty
Mon Jan 09 2023 - 08:40

Barcelona went three points clear at the top of La Liga on Sunday with a 1-0 away win at Atlético Madrid, thanks to a first-half goal from Ousmane Dembélé.

Rivals and second-placed Real Madrid suffered 2-1 defeat at Villarreal on Saturday, giving Barça the chance to seize the advantage in the league after 16 rounds.

The visitors got the only goal of the game after 22 minutes when Dembélé was played clear inside the box and sent the ball into the bottom right corner.

The hosts started to wake up at the end of the half, taking over possession and sending Barcelona into defensive mode.

READ MORE

Two minutes into stoppage time Barça’s Ferran Torres and Atlético’s Stefan Savic were sent off for violent conduct as the visitors held on for the narrow win.

Third-placed Real Sociedad registered their sixth successive victory in all competitions as they beat Almeria 2-0 away, with David Silva and Alexander Sørloth netting early in the second half.

Real Betis are up to fourth after a 2-1 win at Rayo Vallecano, sealed by Luiz Henrique in the 40th minute. An Ivan Balliu own goal had earlier been cancelled out by Rayo’s Sergio Camello.

Sevilla moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 home defeat of Getafe. Marcos Acuña and Rafa Mir put the hosts two goals up before Borja Mayoral pulled one back late on for Getafe.

In Serie A, Juventus extended their winning streak to eight games and climbed to second as Danilo’s late goal secured an emotional 1-0 victory at home to Udinese.

Juve, who have not conceded a goal in their winning run, sealed the points in the 86th minute when Federico Chiesa elegantly chested down a high ball inside the box and crossed for an unmarked Danilo to score.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side are seven points behind Napoli, who beat Sampdoria 2-0, but the Juventus manager insisted the leaders remain clear favourites. “They have a big advantage, whereas we want to consolidate [in] the top four,” Allegri said afterwards.

Chiesa dedicated the victory to Gianluca Vialli after the legendary former Juventus striker died on Friday. “He was a wonderful person, a real champion, but above all a marvellous human being,” Chiesa told Dazn. “The victory is for him.”