Hansi Flick’s FC Barcelona come from behind to beat Atletico Madrid, securing a huge three points away from home

FC Barcelona secured a huge away win over Atletico Madrid to maintain their lead.

FC Barcelona came from behind to beat Atlético Madrid 2-1 at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, with Fermín López scoring twice in a hard-fought victory that kept Hansi Flick’s side at the top of La Liga heading into the international break.

The Catalan giants are three points above Real Madrid in second and five points clear of Atletico in third. Atlético started the match with far greater intensity.

Diego Simeone’s side pressed aggressively and attacked the spaces behind Barcelona’s defensive structure and easily was able to dominate the midfield battle.

The home side took the lead in the 10th minute, as Julián Álvarez created the opening for Giuliano Simeone, who finished to give the hosts an early advantage.

Álvarez himself had further chances to extend Atlético’s lead twice, but Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García produced important saves in one-on-one situations to keep the deficit to just one goal.

Barcelona's equaliser arrived shortly before half-time when Fermín López finished brilliantly to bring Barcelona level and change the momentum completely heading into the interval.

However, the biggest tactical tweak from Hansi Flick arrived at half-time, which completely turned the game upside down.

Frenkie De Jong was introduced in the second half, but the Dutchman wasn't deployed in his usual midfield role.

He was introduced as a right-back, a position he had never played before. However, this move allowed Barcelona to be more fluid in possession, and he frequently moved into central areas carrying the ball forward and helped the team to sustain the pressure from Diego's side.

Atletico Madrid were forced to sit back deeper, and they couldn't press with the same intensity as they had done in the first half.

Barcelona enjoyed far greater control in the second half, with De Jong helping the visitors dominate possession and move the ball into advanced areas.

As per Opta, he completed 14 passes into the final third during his 45 minutes, more than any player on either side, and Barcelona’s second-half possession rose to 68 per cent.

Barcelona were able to progress the ball more comfortably, while Pedri and the attacking midfielders were able to receive possession higher up the pitch, which they were not able to in the first half.

Atletico, so dangerous in transition during the opening stages, found themselves spending increasingly long periods without the ball and invited pressure on themselves.

Barcelona eventually made that pressure count in the 66th minute as Lamine Yamal produced a sensational pass through Atletico’s defence and Fermin kept his composure to complete his brace, turning the game completely around.

Atlético pushed for an equaliser, but they could not recreate the same attacking rhythm they had enjoyed in the first half as Barcelona’s improved control of possession reduced the opportunities for Simeone’s side to counter, while the visitors managed the closing stages intelligently with De Jong slotting inside the midfield in the later stages of the game.

For Barcelona, it is a massive victory after a difficult period, that too against their ‘kryptonite’ from last season.

Fermin’s individual brilliance and Yamal delivered another decisive assist, but De Jong’s introduction was arguably the tactical move that changed the game completely in favour of the Catalan giants.