Barcelona Stuns 10-Man Atletico to Go Seven Clear as Real Madrid Slips Again

Barcelona moved a significant step closer to the La Liga title on Saturday after coming from behind to defeat 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-1, while nearest challengers Real Madrid suffered a stoppage-time loss at Mallorca.

The victory at the Metropolitano Stadium, secured by Robert Lewandowski's 87th-minute goal, gives Barcelona a seven-point cushion at the top of the table with eight matches remaining. The result also marked Barcelona's eighth win in their last nine outings across all competitions.

Atletico took the lead in the 39th minute through Giuliano Simeone, but Marcus Rashford restored parity just three minutes later. The home side's hopes were dealt a significant blow in first-half stoppage time when Nico González was sent off for a second bookable offense.

The winning goal came with an element of fortune. João Cancelo's driving run and cutbacks created space for a shot, but his effort was parried by goalkeeper Juan Muso directly onto Lewandowski's shoulder and into the net.

"We are happy with the victory," Barcelona midfielder Dani Olmo said. "We hadn't forgotten the last Copa match here... we wanted to win and get the three points, which were very important."

Saturday's match was the first of three meetings between Barcelona and Atletico in 10 days, with the two sides set to face each other twice more in the Champions League quarterfinals. The rivals will ultimately meet five times in less than two months, having already contested a Copa del Rey semifinal in February and March, which Atletico won 4-3 on aggregate.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone acknowledged the difficulty of the defeat but looked ahead. "We played a good game," he said. "We have to focus on the Champions League game now."

Earlier Saturday, Real Madrid's title hopes suffered a significant setback. After Manu Morlanes gave Mallorca a 42nd-minute lead, Éder Militão, making his return from a four-month injury layoff, equalized in the 88th minute. However, Vedat Muriqi scored the winner one minute into added time, handing Madrid its third defeat in its last six league matches.

Mallorca moved out of the relegation zone with the victory, rising to 17th place.

In other matches, Real Sociedad defeated Levante 2-0 at home, while Real Betis played out a goalless draw with Espanyol, who remain winless in 13 league matches this year.