MADRID: In a slump and facing the hottest team in Spain, Barcelona came through with an important win for its title hopes and quelled any fears of a late collapse.
Barcelona ended a three-game winless streak — and Atletico Madrid’s 13-game unbeaten run — with a hard-fought 1-0 win on Sunday to stay on track for its first Spanish league title in four years. The home win restored the team’s comfortable 11-point lead over Real Madrid with eight rounds remaining.
The victory also halted a six-game winning streak by Atletico, which lost ground to Madrid in the fight for second place. Madrid, which is focused on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey final, beat Celta Vigo 2-0 at home on Saturday.
Ferran Torres scored a 44th-minute winner at Camp Nou with a well-placed low shot from just inside the area to end Barcelona’s recent problems entering the final stretch.
It hadn’t scored in three straight games after being humiliated at home by Madrid 4-0 in the Copa del Rey semifinals and held to scoreless draws against modest league opponents in Girona and Getafe.
“We had to win no matter what, it was an important match to keep us on track to winning the league,” Torres said. “It was difficult, against a team that was unbeaten in 13 matches and that was one of the hottest teams this season.”
It was the 23rd clean sheet in the league for Barcelona, which last won the league title in 2019. It has conceded only nine goals in 30 league matches this season.
Third-place Atletico, which has the second-best defense with 22 goals conceded, trails Madrid by five points.
It was the third straight win by Barcelona over Diego Simeone’s team, whose last win against the Catalan club was in 2021. Atletico is winless at Camp Nou in 17 consecutive league matches. Its last league loss this season had been at Barcelona in January.
“They deserved the victory because they were more efficient,” Simeone said. “We had our chances but didn’t take advantage of them.”
Atletico, the 2021 champion, threatened first with a shot by Antoine Griezmann that hit the crossbar three minutes into the match.
Atletico struggled early in the season, quickly falling out of contention for the league title and finishing its Champions League group in last place, but it had been the hottest team in Spain in 2023.
Barcelona coach Xavi had the return of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong after they missed several matches because of injuries.
SEVILLA’S MOMENTUM
Youssef En-Nesyri scored a winner four minutes into stoppage time as Sevilla kept its momentum with a 2-1 win over Villarreal at home.
It was the third victory in a row for Sevilla, which eliminated Manchester United in the Europa League midweek. It moved to 12th.
Villarreal stayed sixth after its second straight loss and missed a chance to move closer to the Champions League places.
RELIEF FOR VALENCIA
Valencia took a step forward in its fight against relegation with a 2-0 win at last-place Elche.
The result ended Valencia’s 10-match winless streak in away matches in the league. It had lost eight in a row on the road.
Valencia stayed in 18th place with the same points as 17th-place Almeria, the first team outside the relegation zone.
Elche is 17 points from safety.
GETAFE IN DANGER
South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in scored a pair of second-half goals as Mallorca came from behind to beat relegation-threatened Getafe 3-1 at home.
Mallorca moved to 10th place, while Getafe dropped to 16th and one point from the relegation zone.
Barcelona ends Atletico’s winning run, moves closer to title
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Barcelona ends Atletico’s winning run, moves closer to title
- Ferran Torres scored a 44th-minute winner at Camp Nou with a well-placed low shot from just inside the area to end Barcelona’s recent problems entering the final stretch
Footballco launches new Riyadh studio to boost creator-led content boom
- Football media company’s venture caters for its Arabic video-first brands
- Footballco also plans to create in-studio formats for its fan-driven series, Yalla Fans, previously shot on location at football stadiums
RIYADH: Football media and culture company Footballco have opened a new production studio in Riyadh.
The move allows it to boost the volume of in-studio content created for its leading Arabic video-first football brands — Yalla Goal, Yalla Fans and Yalla Girl, as well as branded content for commercial partners.
The new studio complements Footballco’s Riyadh office, which opened in December 2024 as its Middle East headquarters. Footballco’s move to the city was driven by a desire to better serve clients in Saudi Arabia and to bring it closer to the country’s burgeoning football industry. The company now has 20 full-time staff in the Kingdom.
Footballco currently operates three video-first Arabic-language football brands in the region, all targeting Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha fans and fronted by experienced content creators. Yalla Goal combines spirited discussions, bold challenges and fun games, while Yalla Girl celebrates the growth of women’s football in Saudi Arabia and the region, with a focus on talent, personality, laughter and friendship. Footballco also plans to create in-studio formats for its fan-driven series, Yalla Fans, previously shot on location at football stadiums.
The company’s decision to invest in creator-led, in-studio video formats is backed by its own research which found that, for young fans, brand partnerships with creators are seen as more valuable than official tournament partnerships.
Footballco’s new studio will increase the frequency of video content created for its channels, supported by two full-time hosts for Yalla Goal — Mohammed Bargat and Waleed Al-Shargi (better known as Shargi), who have a combined following of over 900,000 on their personal channels.
Andy Jackson, Footballco’s Middle East senior vice president, said: “With seven national teams from the region set to appear at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, eight if Iraq qualify through the play-offs, these new facilities and increasing video output sets our brands up for success at a time where we know there will be an unprecedented demand for fun, creator-led video content.
“We’re also excited to welcome both Bargat and Shargi to the team, with both having more than proved themselves as understanding how to create content that resonates with young fans and they are already familiar to our audiences.”
He added: “In December, our Arabic social channels generated over 1.7 billion video views, so we are building from an incredibly strong base to further cement our position as the clear market leader both in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Our creator-led video formats have proved incredibly popular with brands, and this investment will see us able to offer a broader range of opportunities to our many commercial partners.”
While the World Cup this summer will see Footballco’s new studio in constant use, the company is also readying a slate of programming across Ramadan, with a 30-show spread culminating in an Eid special.
Taha Imani, Footballco’s head of video and social in the Middle East and North Africa region, said: “With YouTube becoming the number one place for fans to enjoy longform and short-form football content, and based on success across Footballco brands such as The Front Three in other markets, we’re expecting to grow at speed as we approach the World Cup giving fans exactly what they want from us on a daily basis.”
