Barcelona 3-1 Atletico Madrid: Lewandowski's blushes spared as hosts extend LaLiga lead

Barcelona fought their way to a 3-1 win against Atletico Madrid to move four points clear of Clasico rivals Real Madrid at the LaLiga summit on Tuesday.

Robert Lewandowski's missed first-half penalty mattered little, as goals after the break from Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres completed the win ahead of Madrid's trip to Athletic Club. 

Atletico took the lead in the 19th minute after Alex Baena exposed Barcelona's high-line once again to finish past Joan Garcia following Nahuel Molina's lofted pass over the top.

However, that lead lasted just seven minutes when Pedri played Raphinha through on goal before the Brazilian rounded Jan Oblak to score into an unguarded net. 

Barca had a great chance to take the lead before the break when Pablo Barrios fouled Olmo in the box, but Lewandowski fired well over the crossbar before Oblak denied a header from the Polish striker soon after with a brilliant diving save.

Raphinha dragged wide shortly after the break following a fine pass from Lamine Yamal, but Olmo put Barca ahead in the 65th minute as he fired his shot in across goal, though he injured his shoulder in the process.

Thiago Almada and Antoine Griezmann both missed golden opportunities for Atleti late on, and they were made to rue those costly errors as Torres secured the win as he converted from close range following Alejandro Balde's low cross.

Data Debrief: Torres scores customary goal

Although it seemed like Atleti were on their way leaving Camp Nou with a point, Barca got the win they deserved. The hosts produced 3.88 expected goals (xG) from 19 shots to Atleti's 0.97 from seven attempts.

Yamal did not register a direct goal contribution, but he certainly made his presence known. He completed nine of his 15 dribbles, more than the whole Atleti squad combined (six), and completed the most passes in the final third (26) while also creating two chances.

Torres, meanwhile, has scored four goals in nine LaLiga appearances against Atleti, only netting more against Real Betis (five) in his career in the competition.