Barcelona hoped to end the top of the competition phase, but they failed to revise Liverpool in the rankings. A victory over Atalanta in the Estadi Olimpic would have been enough, but in the end the Catalans could only manage a 2-2 draw.
The first half did not produce goals, although the visitors found the back of the net via Davide Zappacosta, although it was excluded by VAR for an offside in the structure. It would be Barcelona that the first blow hit only a few minutes in the second period thanks to Lamine Yamal, while he took a nice move in which Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha were involved by taking the ball around Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi before he ended in the empty net.
However, it went on the Estadi Olimpic shortly thereafter when Endererson thundered a beautiful strike home. Atalanta had threatened all the time, and that was a meritor for the visiting side. Barcelona, however, managed to continue on the 71st minute when Ronald Araujo sustained the back of Raphinha's corner's network – that was his second goal of the season, and his first since signing a new contract until 2031.
However, Barcelona had to be denied again when a second equalizer for Atalanta came from Marco Pasalic. Hansi Flick will have been very irritated by the defense of his side, while the Croatian midfielder Jules Kounde bribed to put the ball between Wojciech Szczesny's legs.
Ultimately, this means that Barcelona has to settle for second in the competition phase. However, they are still ready until the last 16 of the Champions League, and that will be very satisfying for Flick and his players, who do not have to be involved in the play-offs next month.
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