Barça calm leader, Atlético ensures before challenging PSG

Carried by its Spanish European champion Dani Olmo, author of a double, FC Barcelona outclassed its neighbor and rival Espanyol (3-1) on Sunday, consolidating its place as leader of the Spanish championship during this twelfth day marked by numerous tributes to the victims of the deadly floods in the country.

For his first start since his thigh injury in mid-September, the Barcelona summer recruit launched his team perfectly from the 12th minute by cutting an outside ball from the sublime foot of the Catalan prodigy Lamine Yamal (1-0), before concretizing the domination blaugrana with a nice shot near the surface (31st, 3-0).

The Brazilian Raphinha, author of an exceptional start to the season, had doubled the lead a few minutes earlier on a serve from the young Marc Casado (23rd, 2-0), scoring his fifth goal in three matches, the seventh in La Liga.

With a three-goal lead at the break, Hansi Flick's men relaxed a little and ended up seeing their modest neighbor come back to the score after two goals refused for offside (28th, 58th) on a great collective action concluded by the Spanish scorer Javi Puado (63rd, 3-1).

Barça (1st, 33 points), whose eleventh victory in twelve days, temporarily takes a nine-point lead over its great rival Real Madrid (2nd, 24 points), whose meeting in Valencia was postponed in due to the deadly floods that hit the region this week.

The two teams observed a minute of silence before the match in tribute to the victims of this tragedy which has already caused 217 deaths in the east of the country and moved the whole world, and the Catalan club announced that it would auction the jerseys of its players to raise funds for disaster victims.

Atlético ensures before challenging PSG

Three days before a trip to Paris in the Champions League, Atlético Madrid provided the essentials at home against Las Palmas (2-0), in a meeting also placed under the sign of solidarity with the victims of severe bad weather in the east of the country.

At the Metropolitano stadium, Atlético players held up flocked jerseys “Strength and Courage” in Valencian, imitating gestures observed on other La Liga pitches since Friday.

Sportingly, Atlético, which remained on two defeats in its last three outings, returned to success thanks to two achievements from the young Giuliano Simeone, son of the legendary Argentine coach, well launched on the right wing by his compatriot Nahuel Molina (37th, 1-0), and Norwegian striker Alexander Sortloth (84th, 2-0), who came on in the second half.

The Colchoneros, fifth at kick-off, thus recover their third place with 23 points, one length behind their neighbor and rival Real Madrid (2nd, 24 points), which therefore has one game in hand, and ten behind FC Barcelona (1st, 33 points).

On Saturday, Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone estimated that there was no “no sense” to maintain this championship day, to which the president of La Liga Javier Tebas responded that “the best message” was “not to stop, except in affected areas”by sharing a Red Cross donation call number.