Fermin Lopez says Barcelona learned from past mistakes to beat Atletico Madrid

Fermin Lopez praised Barcelona’s character after they came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the 12th round of La Liga.

Barcelona secured an important victory at the Wanda Metropolitano, with Lopez scoring both of their goals. Giuliano Simeone scored Atletico’s only goal.

Speaking to Spanish broadcaster Movistar, Lopez said Barcelona had drawn on their experience from last season to recover and claim the points.

“It was a very difficult match. We learned from our experience last season,” he said. “The first half was not easy, but we showed our character, fought our way back into the game and achieved the victory.”

Lopez also said Barcelona must become more clinical in front of goal, despite their response after falling behind.

“I feel we still need to be more decisive in front of goal,” he added. “Scoring the goal helped us gain confidence and get into the match better.”

Barcelona’s win took them back to the top of La Liga with 33 points, while Atletico Madrid remain third on 28 points.

Lopez was particularly pleased with the contribution of Lamine Yamal, who created his second goal with a decisive pass.

“Lamine was absolutely brilliant. We have a very good understanding, and his pass for the second goal did most of the work,” Lopez said. “I am very happy for him.”

The assist for Atletico’s goal came from Julian Alvarez. As a result, Barcelona have become the club against whom the Argentina forward has directly contributed to the most goals as an Atletico Madrid player, with seven in total – four goals and three assists.

Barcelona are also the only team in Europe’s top five leagues to have more than one player involved in at least 10 goals this season. They have three such players.

Yamal set another mark during the match, becoming the first Barcelona player to create seven chances in a single La Liga game against Atletico Madrid since Xavi did so in October 2008.