Atletico end 10-year wait to beat Barca, Ronaldo scores twice

Barcelona's Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong (back) challenges Atletico Madrid's Belgian midfielder Yannick Carrasco during the La Liga match in Madrid, Spain, November 21, 2020. /CFP

Atletico Madrid pulled off their first La Liga win over Barcelona in more than a decade as Yannick Carrasco capitalized on a blunder from Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to secure a 1-0 victory at an empty Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid on Saturday.

Belgian winger Carrasco broke the deadlock at the end of the first half, pulling off a classy backheel to knock the ball through the legs of Ter Stegen and keep his composure in front of goal after the German had charged out of his area.

Atletico got the victory without joint-top scorer Luis Suarez, who was deprived of a reunion with his former side after testing positive for COVID-19, but they were more than worthy winners.

Atletico's Marcos Llorente nearly gave them an early lead when his shot crashed off the bar, while it took a brilliant save from Ter Stegen to keep out a vicious distance strike from Saul Niguez.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi (L) and Antoine Griezmann warm up prior to the match in Madrid, Spain, November 21, 2020. /CFP

Barca captain Lionel Messi was "unusually subdued," commented BBC Sport, after he returned from his international duty with Argentina on Thursday.

Therefore, Messi created very little danger during the match, while former Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann missed the target in each half as the Catalans fell to a third defeat of the season, leaving them 10th in the table on 11 points.

Atletico moved up to second in the standings, level on 20 points with leaders Real Sociedad.

Cristiano Ronaldo (front) of Juventus celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the Serie A match against Cagliari Calcio in Turin, Italy, November 21, 2020. /CFP

In Serie A, Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half double allowed Juventus to climb to second in the Italian league standings with a 2-0 win over Cagliari at Juventus Stadium in Turin on Saturday.

After a relatively quiet international break for Ronaldo, with one goal in three games for Portugal, he scored in the 38th minute, finding the net for the fifth successive league match.

Four minutes later the 35-year-old forward brilliantly struck at the far post to double his side's advantage, taking him to eight league goals for the season, from just four starts.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus has an anti-violence symbol against women on the face during the Serie A match in Turin, Italy, November 21, 2020. /CFP

However, after recovering from COVID-19, then an ankle injury, before travelling to play for his country, Ronaldo looked sharper than all around him as he took charge.

Players had a red stripe symbol on their faces during the match, part of a scheme to raise awareness of anti-domestic violence against women. The movement is driven by Serie A, the players' association and a humanitarian organization in Italy, according to writer Jack Kenmare of Sport Bible.

(With input from agencies)