Messi had the first effort on goal, but his fierce effort was comfortably handled by Jan Oblak in the Atletico goal.
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Andres Iniesta has backed Barcelona to carry on without injured superstar Lionel Messi.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 41st minute on a set piece, thanks to a magnificent header by Ivan Rakitic off a cross from Iniesta.
FC Barcelona could take advantage of Real Madrid draw to Villareal [1-1] earlier and sits in third place after a very contested match at Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi was forced off in the 59th minutes after a Diego Godin tackle, and is now a doubt for his side’s Champions League fixture against Manchester City on October 19.
Simeone brought on Angel Correa and Fernando Torres in the second half, and they were responsible for Atletico’s equaliser. He didn’t have to wait long. The young Argentinian capitalised on a slip from Javier Mascherano to slot coolly into the bottom left corner beyond the rooted Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Undaunted, Barca came roaring back, with Neymar challenging Oblak twice.Neymar provided ideal service to Gerard Pique on a free kick after a foul, but the defender’s header went just wide. Jordi Alba would have made it 2-1 for Barcelona minutes later if a deflection had not sent his shot over the cross-bar. Or is it that the squad depth is not effective enough to win matches?
“We lacked intensity in the first-half”, said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.
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Madrid continue to lead Barca by three points at the top of the table with Atletico a further point back in fourth.
