Barcelona failed to take over the top position in the early stages of the Champions League after being held to a 2-2 draw by Atalanta, Wednesday (29/1/2025) local time.
Atalanta managed to score against Barcelona in the 35th minute. Davide Zappacosta managed to maximize a loose ball in the penalty box area. However, after VAR monitoring, Zappacosta was in an offside position so the goal was disallowed.
The match in the first half was quite exciting. Until the first half ended, both teams had not been able to score against each other.
Barcelona then managed to take the lead in the 47th minute through Lamine Yamal. A fast Barcelona attack scheme managed to hit Atalanta.
The ball from Alejandro Balde towards Robert Lewandowski was immediately continued to the right side of Atalanta’s defense. Raphinha chased the ball and Atalanta’s defense looked empty.
Raphina sent the ball towards Lamine Yamal who was running fast. Lamine Yamal then managed to control the ball and pass Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi. Lamine Yamal was then able to put the ball into the goal amidst Sead Kolasinac’s efforts to thwart the opportunity.
Aalanta then equalized through Ederson in the 67th minute. Ederson fired a hard shot from outside the penalty box that Wojciech Szczesny could not block.
Ronald Araujo brought Barcelona back ahead in the 73rd minute. Araujo fired a header following a corner kick released by Raphinha.
However, Atalanta was able to equalize six minutes later. Mario Pasalic escaped the attention of Barcelona’s defenders when he received a pass from Maarten De Roon. Pasalic also had no difficulty in conquering Szczesny.
This draw made Barcelona fail to maximize their chance to take first place. The reason is that elsewhere, Liverpool, who kept their core players, lost to PSV with a score of 2-3.
Liverpool also has the right to the top position in the final league standings with 21 points, two points ahead of Barcelona.
Image source: barcablaugranes.com
