Barcelona have been pegged back to 1-1 by Atletico Madrid, in a crazy opening 20 minutes in their crunch La Liga clash in Catalonia.
Both sides had chances in the opening stages at the Camp Nou, with Diego Costa inches away from connecting with Yannick Carrasco’s whipped free kick.
Ivan Rakitic then tested Jan Oblak, before the hosts edged in front in bizarre circumstances on 11 minutes.
Lionel Messi whipped a corner into the near post, and Costa made a mess of his attempted clearance, diverting the ball past Oblak for an own goal.
🔴🔵 Barça lead after 12mins!
Diego Costa awkwardly diverts a Lionel Messi corner into his own net 🙈#BarçaAtleti 1-0 pic.twitter.com/LxWm7DkjSt
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) June 30, 2020
Diego Simeone’s side rallied instantly, with Carrasco brought down by Arturo Vidal on 14 minutes for an Atletico penalty.
🔴⚪ Atletico equalise from Saúl’s retaken penalty after a frantic few minutes 🤯
👉 Carrasco is brought down by Vidal
❌ Costa misses the spot kick
🗣 Referee orders a retake
✅ Saúl makes no mistake with the retake!#BarçaAtleti 1-1 pic.twitter.com/FgbPNOr2xG— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) June 30, 2020
Man of the moment Costa saw his effort saved by Marc Ter Stegen, but referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez controversially awarded a retake as the German keeper strayed off his line.
🗣 Referee Alejandro Hernandez ordered Atletico’s first half penalty be retaken for Ter Stegen coming off his goal-line!
Your thoughts? 💬#BarçaAtleti 𝟭-𝟭 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 ⏱ pic.twitter.com/zwk56ipN4H
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) June 30, 2020
The decision was backed up by VAR, with Spanish midfielder taking over spot kick duties from Costa, and calmly slotting past Ter Stegen on 19 minutes.
⚽️⚽️ GOAL! ⚽️⚽️ High drama at Camp Nou as @mterstegen1 judged to have moved before @diegocosta started his run-up. @saulniguez swiftly equalises for @Atleti with his retaken penalty! It's 1-1 | WATCH #BARATM LIVE NOW on beIN 1 ▶️ https://t.co/4lmvfYouoe pic.twitter.com/oib74EjC4P
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_AUS) June 30, 2020
