Barça put their heart into leaving Camp Nou even further ahead in the standings

BarcelonaThe heart of Hansi Flick's Barça is beating strong again after a resounding 3-1 victory against Atlético Madrid, a win that strengthens their position at the top of La Liga. With Raphinha's brilliance, Pedri's flair, and a proud crowd that filled all 45,000 seats at the new Camp Nou, the team stood up to a rival on a winning streak. Thanks to goals from Raphinha, Olmo, and Ferran, Barça secured three crucial points in the title race and recovered a sense of pride that, at times this season, seemed to have faded.

Atlético's visit to Barcelona is always a battle. Simeone doesn't care about accumulating tons of talent in his squads; he ends up turning his players into soldiers, into gladiators ready to give their all. Atlético's approach, as on other occasions, was to alternate between a high defensive block—pressing Barcelona's defense, their weakest link—and dropping back. Barcelona knew how to play this game and, for much of the match, neutralized their opponent's plan.

At the start, when Atlético pressed high, Barcelona looked to exploit the situation on the counter-attack. This led to the first chances, with a couple of runs by Raphinha behind the defense. Hanko saved the first. On the second, the Brazilian shot over the bar. And when Atlético opted to drop back, Pedri shone, tireless between the lines, not only offering passing options to his teammates but also finding seemingly impossible spaces and recovering crucial balls.

With Flick worried about the direction of his Barça for quite some time now, confessing behind closed doors that the team isn't performing as he'd like, the return of Raphinha and Pedri is a treasure. The Brazilian and the Canary Islander are now two fundamental cogs in the machine. Barça started better than their opponent, with Raphinha creating a third chance after Cubarsí spotted Olmo and feinted past Cardoso on one of the Portuguese player's last passes before getting injured. The Terrassa native would have assisted the Brazilian, but Giménez denied him the shot at the last moment.

Barcelona created more chances, but Atlético needed just a couple of passes to open the scoring and expose the weaknesses in Barça's defense. A through ball from Nahuel found Baena, a player as talented as he is temperamental, who chipped the ball over Juan with a delightful lob. The goal seemed poised to resurrect the ghosts that have haunted the team this season, but the Camp Nou had other ideas; they wanted to experience their first great night, or at least give it a shot. The fans rallied behind their team with shouts of support, a spark that hadn't been seen in the first two matches at the new Camp Nou. And the players responded with a pride and courage that resulted in one of their best spells of the season. Barça managed, at times, to put Atlético under pressure in their own area, with the forward runs of a more willing than accurate Balde and the much-improved runs of Koundé compared to recent matches. Barça were determined to find the equalizer, eager to put behind them the struggles in their play that have been holding them back this season. With Pedri and Raphinha on the pitch, anything was possible; it was worth it to believe again, to have faith once more. The Blaugrana had possession, they dominated despite being behind on the scoreboard, but they needed to find that spark, that final vertical pass. Raphinha, who not only pressed hard and called on his teammates to support him, would turn goalscorer to finish off a great pass from Pedri. Barça's comeback

The draw was a fair reward for a Barça side that danced to the rhythm of the Canary Islander and the Brazilian. Juan would also have his share of the spotlight, alert in a crucial action to rectify Cubarsí's error on the clearance that the cunning Baena almost capitalized on. Barça wouldn't have deserved to concede a second, having played better than their opponent. In fact, the balance was about to tip in favor of the Blaugrana, with a great turn by Olmo to enter the area and draw the penalty from Barrios. Lewandowski sent the ball high and wide with an abysmal shot that looked like a touchdown.

Once again, the fans responded by cheering on their team. The Polish striker would have a chance to recover, with a great header after a good cross from Lamine Yamal that was met by an even better save from Oblak. It would be Barça's last great opportunity before heading to the tunnel with a depleted lead.

After the restart, the game remained evenly matched, with survival and the ecstasy of Olmo's goal, following another great move by Pedri finished with quality by the Terrassa native, allowing the fans to go home proud. Not without suffering until the final minutes, when Atlético pressed hard, but Ferran sealed a victory that could be worth much more than three points. Barça showed football, but also heart.