Despite not having Xavi on the sidelines for over forty minutes, Barcelona scored three as the Blaugrana defeated their hosts 3-0 on Sunday in La Liga.

Barcelona may not be close in the La Liga title race, but they want to end the league season on a high and also stretch their UEFA Champions League run for as long as they can after finding themselves among the last eight of the competition.

Atlético Madrid is also one of the UCL quarter-finalists, and they could recreate another Atletico/Barcelona clash in the semi-finals if they both get past their last eight oppositions.

However, the La Liga defending champions, Atleti, will not be able to lift the league at the end of the season, but Barcelona boosted their chances with a 3-0 win on Sunday that puts Xavi’s men second on the table and eight points from runaway leaders Real Madrid with nine matches left.

Robert Lewandowski and Joao Felix combined for the only goal of the first half in the 38th minute as the Portuguese put Barcelona ahead. However, Barcelona’s coach, Xavi, was ahead of himself and quickly saw a sending-off three minutes after the goal, but his team held on for the halftime lead.

Barcelona returned to the game with intent after the break, and Robert Lewandowski quickly doubled the visitors’s advantage just a minute into the second half. By the 65th minute, the Polish striker settled the game once and for all after providing the assist for Fermin Lopez’s second goal in two consecutive games.

Two assists and a goal from Robert Lewandowski did the job in the absence of their manager, but it’s a continuation of Atletico Madrid’s inconsistent season just days after they beat Inter Milan on penalties to move to the quarter-finals of the UCL.

While the Wanda Metropolitan side will face Dortmund in the quarter-final, Barcelona will play PSG, with the winner of both fixtures on aggregate clashing in the semis.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu