Fermin Lopez Reaches 100 LaLiga Appearances With Brace at Atletico Madrid as Barcelona Stay Top

Fermin Lopez 100 LaLiga appearances reached a perfect ending on Sunday 8 November 2026, when the Barcelona midfielder scored twice in a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid and marked his century in the Spanish top flight with a match-winning brace. The 23-year-old turned a one-goal deficit into a famous away victory at the Metropolitano and kept Barcelona top of LaLiga going into the international break.

Barcelona fell behind to an early goal from Giuliano Simeone, but Fermin struck on the stroke of half time and again in the 66th minute to complete the comeback. The win moved Barcelona to 33 points from 12 matches, three clear of Real Madrid and five clear of Atletico Madrid, and it ended a run of seven straight LaLiga wins for the side led by Diego Simeone.

Fermin Lopez 100 LaLiga appearances: how the brace unfolded at the Metropolitano

The match began at a frantic pace. Inside the first seven minutes, Julian Alvarez found himself clean through on goal, only for Joan Garcia to deny the Atletico striker with a superb intervention. Marc Pubill then headed against the crossbar from a corner, before Pedri responded almost immediately by rattling the woodwork at the other end.

Atletico struck first in the tenth minute. A swift counterattack saw Kang-in Lee find Julian Alvarez, and the Argentina striker supplied the pass for Giuliano Simeone to finish first time and put the hosts ahead. The match had been preceded by a minute silence in memory of Jesus de Miguel, and play was briefly halted again after the opener for a further tribute to the Tenerife striker.

Barcelona responded by taking greater control of possession, with Lamine Yamal causing problems down the right and Fermin seeing an effort blocked. Raphinha had a quiet night in attack, kept under wraps by the Atletico defence, and the visitors had to remain alert as Atletico stayed dangerous on the break, particularly through Alvarez.

Just when it looked as though Barcelona would go into half time behind, the equaliser came. In first-half stoppage time, Pedri drove through the middle and found Fermin, who scored at the second attempt with a fine left-footed finish across Jan Oblak to make it 1-1. The goal rewarded a first half in which Barcelona had refused to panic after falling behind, and the sides went in level at the break.

Hansi Flick reshaped the side at half time, with Frenkie de Jong replacing Brian Farinas at right-back, and Barcelona emerged strongly after the interval, pressing Atletico high up the pitch and increasingly dictating the tempo. Pedri threatened from distance, while Fermin tested Oblak as the visitors looked for a second goal. Early in the second half, Alvarez lobbed over the crossbar when running in on goal, and the forward came to rue the miss.

The winner arrived in the 66th minute. Lamine Yamal threaded a superb pass into the path of Fermin, whose perfectly timed run took him into the Atletico area. The midfielder met the ball first time, turning to direct a right-footed finish past Oblak and complete a magnificent double. After the win, Fermin said: “Lamine Yamal and I understand each other very well; the goal was half his.” Speaking to Movistar, he added that the side knew how to come back and had a great match.

Atletico pressed for a way back, with Julian Alvarez twice failing to make the most of promising situations, but Barcelona looked the more assured side. Andreas Christensen replaced Joao Cancelo on the hour, while Eric Garcia came on alongside Gavi in the 74th minute. Lamine Yamal came within inches of converting an Anthony Gordon cross in the 83rd minute, and Barcelona saw out four minutes of added time in comfort to seal a hugely important victory. Atletico captain Koke said his team would not let the defeat, their first in LaLiga since 5 September, upset them.

Fermin Lopez moves past Diego Maradona Barcelona goals tally

The brace carried Fermin past a famous name in the Barcelona record books. He went into the match level with Diego Maradona on 38 goals for Barcelona in competitive matches, and the two goals at the Metropolitano took him to 40. Maradona scored his 38 goals in only 58 official appearances for the club between 1982 and 1984, a far higher scoring rate than the 40 goals Fermin has now scored in 151 competitive appearances, but the total still places the midfielder alongside one of the greatest players in the history of the game.

Fermin has also provided 36 assists since breaking into the first team, taking his overall tally to 76 direct goal involvements for Barcelona. In an interview with Mundo Deportivo before the match, he played down the comparison with Maradona, saying the numbers were just numbers and he could not compare himself to a player like Maradona, while adding that he was very happy to have matched the goal tally of a player like him.

The numbers from his first 100 LaLiga appearances underline how unusual his record is for a midfielder. Across his first 100 LaLiga appearances, Fermin has scored 27 goals and provided 19 assists, a total of 46 direct goal contributions. Most attacking players in the competition cannot match such numbers across their first century of league matches.

Measure	Total
LaLiga appearances	100
LaLiga goals	27
LaLiga assists	19
LaLiga goal contributions	46
Barcelona appearances in all competitions	151
Barcelona goals in all competitions	40
Barcelona assists in all competitions	36
Barcelona goal involvements in all competitions	76
Appearances in 2026-27 in all competitions	15
Goals in 2026-27 in all competitions	8
Assists in 2026-27 in all competitions	7
LaLiga appearances in 2026-27	11
LaLiga goals in 2026-27	7

The brace also placed Fermin in rare company. According to statistics specialists MisterChip, he became only the fourth Barcelona player to score at least twice in his 100th LaLiga match. The others were Rivaldo in 1999 against Espanyol, Eladio in 1966 against Granada, and Kubala in 1956 against Celta Vigo.

How Fermin Lopez grew into a key player under Hansi Flick

Fermin is a product of La Masia, and his rise has been rapid. He made his LaLiga debut for Barcelona on 27 August 2023, in a 4-3 away win over Villarreal, when Xavi Hernandez brought him on in the 86th minute. His first-team breakthrough came after a productive loan spell at Linares Deportivo, where he scored 12 goals and provided four assists, and he struck 11 times in his debut senior campaign at Barcelona.

The seasons since have shown steady growth. In 2024-25, under Hansi Flick, he contributed eight goals and nine assists to help the side to the domestic treble, and in 2025-26 he scored 13 goals and provided 17 assists in more than 3,000 minutes on the field. He was also top scorer with six goals in the football tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, helping Spain to the gold medal.

This season has brought his best form yet. Fermin has made the most of his playing time following the injury to Dani Olmo against Paris Saint-Germain, and under Hansi Flick he has developed significantly, particularly in the attacking department. He is now far more than an impact substitute for the side, and he wears the number seven shirt for Barcelona.

Fermin credits Flick with improving his decision-making. He said he had improved a lot in terms of maturity under Hansi, and had learned to read situations better, to understand matches and know when to do something and when not to. He also said his main quality was that he was a very direct player, always moving forward towards goal, thinking about scoring and creating chances.

The competition for attacking midfield places at Barcelona remains strong, particularly from Spain colleague Dani Olmo, but Fermin has described the rivalry for places as healthy and beneficial to both players. His form this season has made him hard to leave out: he has registered eight goals and seven assists in 15 appearances in all competitions, a direct contribution every 72 minutes, and seven of those goals have come in 11 LaLiga appearances.

What the win means for the LaLiga title race

The victory kept Barcelona in control of the title race. After 12 matches, Barcelona have 33 points, with 11 wins and only one defeat. Real Madrid, managed by Jose Mourinho, sit second on 30 points after a 3-0 win at Valencia on Saturday, in which Kylian Mbappe scored his 13th league goal of the season, while Atletico Madrid are third on 28 points.

Position	Team	Played	Points
1	Barcelona	12	33
2	Real Madrid	12	30
3	Atletico Madrid	12	28

Barcelona have now won their first six away games in LaLiga 2026-27. It is only the third time the club has achieved the feat, and the first since 2012-13, when Barcelona won the first ten away matches of the season. The win at the Metropolitano was also impressive because Atletico had won their last seven LaLiga matches before the game.

Hansi Flick rated the importance of going into the international break as leaders at ten on a scale of zero to ten, and he said it was not easy to win at the Metropolitano. After the match, he stressed that the road ahead remained long, saying his side had the quality to win these games and that the aim was to win titles. Barcelona return to LaLiga action on 22 November at home to Villarreal.

Elsewhere on Matchday 12, Real Betis earned a 2-0 win at Elche to move fourth, while Real Sociedad defeated Rayo Vallecano 1-0 to move fifth. Villarreal beat Getafe 2-0 to move eighth, and Celta Vigo and Levante shared a goalless draw.

Fermin Lopez joins Spain squad for Nations League games

Fermin will spend the international break with Spain, after Luis de la Fuente named him in the squad for the final two Nations League group matches. Spain take on Czechia in Prague on 12 November before hosting England in Madrid three days later. Spain have already secured a place in the quarter-finals, and they top their group with a perfect 12 points from four matches.

Five Barcelona players are in the squad: goalkeeper Joan Garcia, defender Pau Cubarsi, midfielders Pedri and Fermin, and attacker Lamine Yamal. Spain will be without the injured Barcelona trio of Rodri, Dani Olmo and Eric Garcia for the two matches. De la Fuente announced the squad in a video in which he paid tribute to the victims of the high-speed rail disaster in Spain and to Tenerife footballer Jesus de Miguel.

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