Do Atlético Madrid's LaLiga title hopes rest on mammoth Barcelona clash?

After suffering Champions League heartbreak in midweek, could Atlético Madrid see another trophy opportunity slip away in Sunday's meeting with Barcelona?

Mentally and physically exhausted, Atlético Madrid will have to pick themselves up from the canvas and stumble to the middle of the ring for another mammoth battle, just days after they were knocked out of the Champions League in dramatic fashion.

Atleti somehow managed to find another painful way to exit Europe’s elite competition at the hands of their bitter rivals Real Madrid, with their penalty shootout defeat making worldwide headlines for one spot-kick in particular. The decision to disallow Julián Alvarez’s penalty proved to be a controversial one, with varying angles leading to different conclusions as to whether he touched the ball with his left foot before shooting with his right.

Whether it was correct or incorrect, one certainty is that Atleti saw one trophy opportunity slip away in front of their devastated supporters at the Metropolitano.