Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw in their La Liga encounter against Atletico Madrid at Nou Camp on Thursday. Worse, Barcelona is going to miss the services of Lionel Messi, who will be out for three weeks after suffering a groin strain during the game.
The striker went off in the 59th minute on Wednesday after a Diego Godin tackle.
Barcelona took the lead with Andres Iniesta setting up Ivan Rakitic near the end of the first half after several minutes of sustained pressure. However, Atletico found the equaliser as Angel Correa dismantled the Barcelona defence in the 61st minute to help draw the match.
With Real Madrid having drawn its match with Villareal 1-1 earlier in the evening, Barcelona had a chance to come within a point of the La Liga leaders by beating Atletico Madrid. The draw means Madrid continues to be on top, while Barcelona has actually slipped to third place with 10 points, three behind the leaders and one behind second-placed Sevilla. Atletico is fourth with 9 points.
Earlier this month, Messi missed Argentina's World Cup 2018 qualifier against Venezuela with a groin injury, but has played in all five La Liga games for his club this season. He could return for Barcelona's Champions League tie with Manchester City on October 19. Sergio Busquets was also forced off with injury in the second half, but the impact of his injury is yet to be known.
