Barcelona 1 - 1 Atlético Madrid: result, match report, goals

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With Real Madrid having dropped a LaLiga point for the first time in seven months, the scene was set for Barcelona to make up ground on the league leaders. But they came up against a tough Atleti side that made things very difficult for them and were held at home to a 1-1 draw.

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Luis Enrique named a full-strength side - including the fearsome Messi-Suarez-Neymar trident up front - but saw his side frustrated by Atleti's compact shape. Facing a side playing with 10 men behind the ball for much of the game, Barcelona struggled to create clear chances and only found a breakthrough just before half-time when Atleti's defence uncharacteristically left Ivan Rakitic unmarked, gifting him a free header which he converted. 

Barcelona went into the break ahead but the second half started worryingly. Messi soon pulled up after a tussle with Atleti's defensive rock Diego Godín holding his groin and limped off after an hour to be substituted by Arda Turan. The equaliser came just a minute later. Substitute Correa burst past Mascherano - who slipped at the worst possible time - and gave ter Stegen no chance as he rifled his shot low into the left-hand corner. 

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Without Messi, Barcelona struggled to break the deadlock. Iniesta was impressive in midfield but Neymar disappeared for long periods of the game, something that will worry Luis Enrique as the club wait to know more on the extent of Messi's injury. His side now sit in third with 10 points ahead of Atleti in fourth with 9. 

Peeeep! And that's full time. Barcelona couldn't break the deadlock against a tough, dogged and well-organized Atleti side.

Min 93 | Corner to Barça. Neymar plays it across goal to Iniesta but his shot flies wide of the bar. 

Min 92 | Jordi Alba isn't happy with something and starts shouting at the referee. In the book you go. 

Min 90 | The fourth offical has signalled three additional minutes of stoppage time.

Min 89 | Rakitic fights his way into the box but scuffs his shot across goal. Time's against the home side now; they won't have many more chances. 

Min 87 | Andre Gomes flagged for a foul on Juanfran. Atleti slow things down and Gabi stands over the ball. He plays it short and Correa flights in the cross. Godín gets on the end of it and forces an excellent save from ter Stegen. 

Min 85 | Uyyyyyyyyy!! Barcelona have it in close quarters in the box but Jordi Alba's powerful shot is deflected over the bar. Filipe Luis is shown a card for a late challenge earlier on in the play. 

Min 83 | Luis Suarez is shown a yellow card for a challenge on Filipe Luis. The Uruguayan lost control of the ball and followed through on Luis after he'd cleared. 

Min 81 | Thomas catches Neymar late on the left hand side and he's shown a yellow card for his troubles. No doubt about that one. Neymar steps up again; he floats in a cross, Pique rises high but his header trickles agonisingly wide of the right post. That was a close one. 

Min 78 | Uyyy! Rakitic finds Neymar down the left, the Brazilian works his way to the edge of the box but his left-footed shot goes straight at Oblak. Half-chance for Barcelona. 

Min 74 | Neymar takes... and it's deflected over the bar for a corner. The Brazilian takes it short but it comes to nothing. 

Min 73 | Dangerous free-kick for Barcelona! Luis Suarez is caught late on the very edge of the box.

Min 72 | Third and final change for Atleti: Carrasco off to be replaced by Thomas. 

Min 69 | Arda bought down by Filipe Luis on the right hand side and Barcelona have a free kick. Neymar steps up but again it's headed away. Barça really need more from him tonight, he's disappeared for long periods of this match. 

Min 67 | With Messi off injured Luis Suarez steps up to take the free kick but he fires straight into the wall. 

Min 66 | Griezmann is flagged for a foul on Ivan Rakitic outside the Atleti box. The Croatian wriggles around on the ground and it does look like Griezmann left his foot in. No booking. 

Min 62 | Awful timing for Barcelona. Messi went off just 5 minutes ago. What they would do to have him now as they seek to break down this resilient Atleti side. 

Min 60 | Gooooooool!! Atleti level through Correa!! He's only been on for a minute!! Correa bursts past Mascherano on the edge of the box - the Argentine slips at the worst possible time and the sub fires low past ter Stegen who doesn't even move. 

Min 56 | Arda is out warming up as Messi signals to the the bench. He's holding his groin. Worrying for Luis Enrique. He's now down on the ground and the medical team are on. 

Min 54 | Huge cheers around the Camp Nou as Ivan Rakitic fights off pressure to hold possession inside the Barça half. Messi is grimmacing after a clash with Godín. Something to keep an eye on. 

Min 53 | Koke is the first man in the book tonight and he's shown a yellow for a late challenge from behind on Neymar. 

Min 50 | Andre Gomes is stripped and ready and is receiving instructions from Luis Enrique. It doesn't look like anyone has picked up an injury so it must be an early tactical decision from the coach. Busquets is the man off. 

Min 48 | Uyyyy! Gameiro beats Mascherano for speed down the right wing and finds Griezmann on the edge of the box but his compatriot goes for power and skies his shot well over the bar. It's still rising...

Min 45 | The second half starts with a bang! Griezmann bursts towards goal and forces a smart save low down from ter Stegen. Up the other end Suarez squares the ball in from the right and Messi gets a shot away but it's blocked by Savic. 

Peeeeep! And we're back underway in Barcelona. Luis Enrique will be looking for more from his forward line in this second half. So will the overwhelming majority of the 89,000 crowd tonight. 

Peeeeeep! And that's half time at the Camp Nou. On balance the score is a fair one. Barcelona have completely dominated the game (70%-30% possession) but have found it difficult to break down Atleti. Simeone's men have packed the centre of the pitch, often with 10 men behind the ball, and forced play out wide. Iniesta, who's been superb in this first half, provided the cross for Rakitic to head home five minutes before the break and it's his strike that's the difference between the two sides at the break. 

Min 43 | Clever play from Griezmann forces a foul around 25 metres from goal. The Atleti players stand over the ball for what seems an eternity before floating in a cross that flies over the heads of everyone in the box. Simeone spins away with a grimmace and looks at the ground. 

Min 40 | Gooooool!! Rakitic heads home to give Barcelona the lead!! Andres Iniesta picks up the ball on the left flank and cuts inside before crossing into the box. Ivan Rakitic finds himself unmarked and rises unchallenged to head low past Oblak. Uncharacteristic from Atleti at the back. 

Min 37 | Jordi Alba forces a corner down the left wing. Neymar steps up but can't get it past the first post. Atleti clear and unleash Kevin Gameiro on the break. The Frenchman's pace is electric and he bursts to the edge of the Barcelona box but in the end he's outnumbered 3 to 1 and the home side clear.

Min 35 | Uyyy! Bacrelona recover the ball on the edge of the box and Neymar takes a shot only to see it sail wide of the right-hand post. 

Min 34 | Saul's hand did make contact with the ball after a point-blank deflection but it would have been a harsh shout. The referee made the right call there.

Min 32 | Uyyyy! Luis Suarez steals in ahead of his marker and meets Jordi Alba's cross with a fierce shot but it's deflected. Shortly after Barça have a penalty shout for a handball but the referee signals play on. Crowd are furious and whistles sound out around the Camp Nou.

Min 30 | Carrasco picks up the ball just outside the Barcelona box. He turns and quickly gets his shot away under pressure from Pique but ter Stegen watches it fly wide of the left-hand post. 

Min 28 | Atleti have 10 men behind the ball and look solid. It's chock-a-block through the middle and Barcelona can't find a way through. They haven't looked especially dangerous and Neymar in particular has looked a little anonymous.

Min 23 | Atleti are making things difficult for Barça through the middle and Messi is having to drop very deep to find the ball. A lot of play is being forced out wide, something Simeone will be happy with. Atleti are more than equipped to deal with crosses against this Barça side. 

Min 19 | Lovely build-up play from Barcelona in midfield and towards the edge of the Atleti box finishes with captain Andrés Iniesta firing straight in the hands of Oblak. 

Min 17 | Uyyyy! Atleti come close again. Rakitic is caught in possession outside the Barça box by Griezmann who plays it left to Filipe Luis but he can only fire high over the bar under pressure from Mascherano. 

Min 15 | First chance for Atleti! Carrasco cuts inside and curls in a shot but it's met by the outstretched hand of ter Stegen who dives to his left to palm it away. 

Min 13 | Uyyy! Messi picks up the ball outside the box and cuts inside before firing off a powerful shot at goal. Oblak makes the save, but Barcelona are showing signs of getting into their groove here. 

Min 12 | Busquets takes a rather dramatic tumble under pressure from Kevin Gameiro. The crowd want a free kick but the referee signals a throw in for the visitors. That was a 'solid' challenge, you could say. 

Min 9 | Neymar is released down the right flank and forces a corner from Diego Godin. Pique rises high to meet the cross by he's flagged for a foul on Godín, who stays down. Pique doesn't seem to understand what he did but the ref isn't interested. 

Min 5 | Atleti storm away on the break and play it out wide to Carrasco who skins Pique and leaves the Barça man sprawled on the floor. He's forced to play it back, however, and Barcelona quickly retain possession. 

Min 3 | First signs of danger from Barcelona. Messi receives the ball inside the box from Sergi Roberto out on the right flank and tries to get his shot away but the Atleti defence is on him in a flash. 

Peeeeeep! And we're off at the Camp Nou. Barcelona playing from left to right in their traditional blue and red stripes; Atleti playing in black with what are probably the brightest yellow socks you'll see this year.

Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid starting teams:

Manager: Luis Enrique

Atlético Madrid XI: Oblak; Juanfran, Godin, Savic, Filipe Luis; Gabi, Koke, Saul, Carrasco; Gameiro and Griezmann

Manager: Diego Simeone

Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid: latest news

5 mins to kick-off | Hugs all round in the tunnel as the teams line up to take the field. Fernando Torres has a joke with Busquets and Pique before running off. He's starting on the bench tonight. 

10 mins to kick-off | The final whistle has just gone in Madrid. Villarreal have held the league leaders to a 1-1 draw and there'll be no consecutive league wins record for Zinedine Zidane. Feel like you need more LaLiga excitement tonight? Not to worry - Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid is just 10 minutes away!

20 mins to kick off | Real Madrid are currently being held 1-1 at home by Villarreal. As things stand, Zidane's side would hold on to top spot for another week ahead of Sevilla (who beat Betis in the Seville derby last night) but a win for either Barcelona or Atleti tonight would see them jump up into second. 

30 mins to kick-off | For years Atleti were Barcelona's bogey team but since taking over Luis Enrique has turned things around: the Asturian leads Simeone 7 to 1 in their head-to-head record. The disciplinary statistics are also striking. In those 8 games, Atleti have racked up 36 yellow cards and 5 reds to Barça's 19 and 0. Could we be in for an ill-tempered game tonight?

40 mins to kick-off | Luis Enrique has named a full-strength side as he seeks to find a way through LaLiga's meanest defence. Atleti have conceded just 1 goal in 4 games so far this season and will be hoping to keep things tight at the back and frustrate Barça's feared MSN frontline. 

20:03 | Things are underway at the Bernabéu, where Real Madrid take on Villarreal, Aled's covering that one live. 

18:42 | Both tonight's teams come into the game having hit five on their last LaLiga outings, as Barça walloped newly-promoted Leganés 5-1 and Atlético routed Sporting Gijón 5-0.

18:38 | Before Barça and Atlético face off in the Catalonian capital, of course, Real Madrid are in action against Villarreal at 20:00. You can follow coverage of that match here.

17:17 | Simeone is yet to taste victory at the Camp Nou since taking charge of Los Rojiblancos and, talking ahead of the trip to Catalonia, admitted: "If we haven't won, it's because we haven't deserved to".

16:46 | Speaking in the build-up to today's match, Barça boss Luis Enrique responded to renewed accusations of showboating levelled against striker Neymar, while Atlético Madrid counterpart Diego Simeone also had his say on the Brazilian's antics.

16:42 | Star men Leo Messi and Antoine Griezmann are among a quartet of players tied on four at the top of LaLiga's goal-scoring charts (Barça's Luis Suárez and Real Betis' Rubén Castro are the other two). Tonight sees them go head to head...

16:05 | Ahead of this evening's game, Barça have announced that midfielder Sergio Busquets is to put pen to paper on his new contract on Thursday, having agreed those extended terms back in May. 

16:02 | Barcelona will of course be without injured defender Samuel Umtiti against Diego Simeone's side. The full story on that is here.

16:00 | The AS English oracle has spoken...and reckons Barça will be taking the spoils tonight. 

14:16 | We've got all the information you need on how and where to watch Barcelona against Atlético Madrid here.

14:08 | Tonight's mouth-watering clash has become the next best thing to El Clásico, says AS editor Alfredo Relaño in his opinion piece today.

Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid: possible starting XIs

Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta, Messi, Neymar, Suárez.

Atlético: Oblak, Juanfran, Savic, Godín, Filipe, Saúl, Gabi, Koke, Carrasco, Griezmann, Gameiro.

Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid: preview - LaLiga Santander Matchday 5

Tonight sees one of the most anticipated games of the season as Atlético travel to champions Barcelona. Both teams have dropped some surprising points already this season and will be looking to keep pace with early leaders Real Madrid who will have already played their fifth game of the campaign by the time these two take to the field.

Barça return to their home ground after a convincing win against Leganés but with memories still fresh of their defeat to Alavés last time they were in front of their home fans in the league. Luis Enrique knows the importance of this game and, although the championship is still in its early days, he will not want to drop any more points at home, especially to a potential rival for the title.

New signing Umtiti is out of the game after picking up an injury in training so Mascherano will step in at the back as Enrique selects his strongest team available and puts aside his recent rotation policy. At right back, Sergio Roberto looks set to start after garnishing favour with the manager who will also unleash the MSN combination up front with Iniesta and Rakitic ably supporting.

In his press conference Luis Enrique talked about the recent comments regarding his Brazilian striker Neymar and suggested that we're likely to see more of his flambouyant style:

"It's spectacular for football. He understands the game like that and we enjoy it at Can Barça. Nobody can be surprised by what he does, and I'd ask him to keep doing the same."

Atlético Madrid 

Atlético come to the Camp Nou on the back of the 5-0 spanking they gave to Sporting at the weekend and with strikers starting to find their groove after a less than convincing start to their season. Griezmann and Gameiro are set to continue up front and young star Saúl, along with Carrasco will also prove potential threats from wider positions, the latter of which will be asked to fully test Sergi Roberto's credentials.

Ahead of the game Simeone spoke to the assembled press to defend Neymar accusations saying that the player "sings, dances and does his talking on the pitch".

The Atléti manager was also quick to heap praise on his own talisman, Griezmann who he has called to be named in the Ballon d'Or shortlist.

"He is fantastic at reading diagonal runs. So we put him just behind the striker and he has been steadily growing, he has really progressed a lot."

Live build up to Barcelona vs Atlético