Spanish La Liga
BarcelonaBarcelona0Atl MadridAtlético Madrid0

Barcelona 0-0 Atlético Madrid: Nervy draw in La Liga title race

Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez was returning to the Nou Camp with Atletico Madrid for the first time

Atletico Madrid remain two points clear at the top of La Liga but their draw at Barcelona means rivals Real Madrid now hold the advantage in the title race.

Real will move level on points with Atletico if they beat fourth-placed Sevilla on Sunday, but would go top because of their head-to-head record.

The top four can all still win La Liga in a remarkably tight title race.

Barcelona struggled to break their visitors down and sit two points behind Atletico with three games remaining.

Lionel Messi looked most likely to make something happen for the hosts and forced Jan Oblak into a diving save after a gliding run across the top of the box.

But the visitors created the better chances in the first half and Luis Suarez saw his strike well saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen at the near post.

'Title race still wide open'

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi embraced before kick-off
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi embraced before kick-off

Barcelona trailed Atletico Madrid by 13 points in January and boss Ronald Koeman said he never imagined they would have closed the gap to just two before this meeting at the Nou Camp.

That difference remains the same following an edgy goalless draw, but both sides will feel the title race is far from over.

Suarez, returning to face his former side, embraced with old friend and ex-team-mate Messi before kick-off but posed a threat to Barcelona as soon as the whistle went.

The 34-year-old Uruguay international forced Ter Stegen into a smart stop and the goalkeeper then had to react quickly to palm the ball away from the lurking forward after keeping out Yannick Carrasco's shot.

Oblak tipped wide from Messi who had Barcelona's best effort of the first half at the other end, but the Argentine really came to life with half an hour remaining and so did the hosts.

Gerard Pique's header from Messi's cross was saved by Oblak, before Ousmane Dembele headed off target late on and Messi curled a free-kick narrowly over the crossbar.

"We are still alive in the chase for the title," said Pique. "We competed well and had more chances than them.

"It wasn't to be but we know the situation we are in. I think this is a title race that is still very much wide open."

The draw means Real Madrid are three points back and Sevilla seven off the lead, before their meeting on Sunday (20:00 BST).

Line-ups

Barcelona

Formation 3-1-4-2

  • 1ter Stegen
  • 28MinguezaSubstituted forAraujoat 45'minutes
  • 3PiquéBooked at 82mins
  • 15Lenglet
  • 5BusquetsSubstituted forKourouma Kouroumaat 32'minutesBooked at 58mins
  • 2DestSubstituted forDembéléat 75'minutes
  • 21de Jong
  • 16GonzálezSubstituted forRobertoat 75'minutes
  • 18AlbaBooked at 82mins
  • 10Messi
  • 7Griezmann

Substitutes

  • 4Araujo
  • 8Pjanic
  • 9Braithwaite
  • 11Dembélé
  • 12Puig
  • 13Murara Neto
  • 17Machado Trincão
  • 20Roberto
  • 23Umtiti
  • 24Firpo
  • 27Kourouma Kourouma
  • 36Tenas

Atl Madrid

Formation 3-4-2-1

  • 13Oblak
  • 15Savic
  • 18FelipeBooked at 46mins
  • 22Hermoso
  • 23Trippier
  • 14Llorente
  • 6KokeBooked at 65mins
  • 21Carrasco
  • 10CorreaSubstituted forKondogbiaat 73'minutes
  • 11LemarSubstituted forSaúlat 13'minutesBooked at 35minsSubstituted forSequeiraat 67'minutes
  • 9Suárez

Substitutes

  • 1Grbic
  • 2Giménez
  • 4Kondogbia
  • 5Torreira
  • 7Sequeira
  • 8Saúl
  • 12Lodi dos Santos
  • 16Herrera
  • 19Dembele
  • 20Machín Pérez
  • 24Vrsaljko
Referee:
Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz

Match Stats

Home TeamBarcelonaAway TeamAtl Madrid
Possession
Home59%
Away41%
Shots
Home12
Away11
Shots on Target
Home7
Away6
Corners
Home5
Away7
Fouls
Home13
Away26

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Barcelona 0, Atletico Madrid 0.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Barcelona 0, Atletico Madrid 0.

  3. Post update

    Corner, Atletico Madrid. Conceded by Frenkie de Jong.

  4. Post update

    Foul by Ilaix Moriba (Barcelona).

  5. Post update

    Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  6. Post update

    Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left from a direct free kick.

  7. Post update

    Lionel Messi (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Geoffrey Kondogbia (Atletico Madrid).

  9. Post update

    Foul by Clément Lenglet (Barcelona).

  10. Post update

    Luis Suárez (Atletico Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Post update

    Antoine Griezmann (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  12. Post update

    Foul by Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid).

  13. Post update

    Attempt missed. Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Jordi Alba with a cross.

  14. Post update

    Foul by Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona).

  15. Post update

    Geoffrey Kondogbia (Atletico Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  16. Booking

    Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  17. Post update

    Foul by Gerard Piqué (Barcelona).

  18. Post update

    João Félix (Atletico Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  19. Booking

    Jordi Alba (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card.

  20. Post update

    Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Saturday 8th May 2021

As It Stands

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Atl Madrid35238461223977
2Barcelona35236680334775
3Real Madrid34228458243474
4Sevilla34224849272270
5Real Sociedad351511953351856
6Villarreal341313851381352
7Real Betis34149114346-351
8Ath Bilbao351113114638846
9Granada34136154355-1245
10Celta Vigo341111124651-544
11Cádiz351110143150-1943
12Osasuna351011143343-1041
13Levante35912144050-1039
14Valencia34812144351-836
15Getafe34810162640-1434
16Alavés35711173054-2432
17Real Valladolid34516133246-1431
18Huesca35612173352-1930
19Elche35612172952-2330
20Eibar34511182646-2026
View full Spanish La Liga table

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