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Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona

Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona
© PA Photos
Lionel Messi's free kick 10 minutes from time earns Barcelona a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid.

Lionel Messi's free kick 10 minutes from time has earned Barcelona a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid.

The Argentine thought that he chipped his side into a seventh-minute lead, but the goal was ruled out for handball.

Barca came close on 19 minutes when Xavi Hernandez saw his free kick saved by Thibaut Courtois.

The visitors made the breakthrough 10 minutes before the break as Dani Alves tapped in following a passing move involving Messi and Cesc Fabregas.

Atletico were level just three minutes into the second half as Falcao pounced in the area from a corner.

Alexis Sanchez headed over after the hour for the away team before Messi swept his free kick into the top corner to claim a vital win for the Catalan side.

Barca are now 10 points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who won 1-0 at Rayo Vallecano earlier in the day.

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Barcelona18122450203038
2Atletico MadridAtletico17115131112038
3Real Madrid17114237162137
4Athletic Bilbao1896327161133
5Villarreal177642928127
6Mallorca188371821-327
7Real Sociedad177461611525
8GironaGirona187472625125
9Osasuna176742225-325
10Real BetisBetis176652021-124
11Sevilla176471823-522
12Rayo Vallecano175661920-121
13Celta Vigo176382528-321
14Las PalmasLas Palmas175482227-519
15Leganes174671523-818
16Getafe173771114-316
17AlavesAlaves174491928-916
18Espanyol1743101629-1315
19Real ValladolidValladolid1833121237-2512
20Valencia162591424-1011


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