Barcelona fail to narrow gap with draw against Atletico

Barcelona failed to narrow the gap on league leaders Real Madrid as they were held by title rivals Atletico Madrid.
After failing to unpick Atletico’s defence with intricate passing, the hosts took the lead as Ivan Rakitic glanced in Andres Iniesta’s cross.
Lionel Messi was forced off with an injury on the hour and Atletico took quick advantage as Angel Correa danced through the defence to equalise.
Gerard Pique and Diego Godin went close but neither La Liga side could score.
A point means Luis Enrique’s side could only match Real’s earlier draw with Villarreal as they remain third in La Liga behind their fiercest rivals and Sevilla.
And there could be further implications for Barcelona’s season if injuries to Messi and midfielder Sergio Busquets prove serious.
The hosts were undoubtedly rocked by the loss of star striker Messi on 59 minutes.
A seemingly innocuous challenge from Godin saw the Argentine forced to hobble off with what looked to be a recurrence of the groin injury that forced him to fly back early from international
duty this month for treatment.
The hosts then switched off shortly after, allowing Correa to burst through largely untroubled and equalise for Atletico.
Without the spark provided by Messi and the organisation of Busquets, who also was withdrawn through injury shortly after the break, Barcelona lost their way.
Diego Simeone’s tactical acumen is no secret but the Atletico boss proved his shrewdness once again as his double substitution resulted in instant success.
Kevin Gameiro and the ineffectual Saul were taken off for Fernando Torres and Correa, with the former providing a deft flick for Correa to run on to, taking advantage of Javier Mascherano’s slip to pick his spot and slot the ball inside Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s near post.
Simeone took full advantage of the misfortune suffered by Barcelona’s own Argentine master as he urged his side forward against an increasingly ragged opposition.
And had Ter Stegen not produced a fine fingertip save in the final moments to deny Godin’s powerful header, then Simeone would have been celebrating another underdog victory.