Barcelona 0-0 Atletico Madrid: 5 talking points as goalless stalemate keeps door ajar for Real Madrid to go top | La Liga 2020-21
A defensive masterclass from Barcelona and Atletico Madrid ensured both sides could not be separated at full-time at the Camp Nou.
The two teams came into this clash knowing that a defeat could end their quest for the La Liga title, so it was understandable that both teams started proceedings rather cautiously.
Barcelona were without their suspended manager Ronald Koeman for this game following his red card against Granada.
The hosts made one change to the side that saw off Valencia last Sunday, with Oscar Mingueza coming in for Ronald Araujo on the right side of defence. Diego Simeone made two changes to his starting lineup. Koke and Felipe came in for Geoffrey Kondogbia and Jose Gimenez, respectively.
A cagey start to the game saw both sides struggle to create any sort of rhythm, although it was Atletico Madrid who fashioned a few half-chances early on.
Both managers were forced into first half substitutions due to injuries. Thomas Lemar left the field to be replaced by Saul Niguez, while Barcelona's Sergio Busquets could not continue after suffering a head injury.
Atletico Madrid ended the first half on the ascendancy. They went close to taking the lead, but Marcos Llorente, Luis Suarez and Angel Correa fluffed presentable openings.
Barcelona's sole moment of magic in the first half came from their inspirational captain Lionel Messi, who dribbled his way across the Atletico defence before forcing Jan Oblak into a world-class save.
The second half trudged along without much incident. But the game came alive on the hour mark when Ilaix Moriba won a corner from a good header that was blocked.
Messi forced Oblak into another save from a free-kick, and Ronald Araujo put the ball in the back of the net in the 70th minute, but it was chalked off for offside.
Ousmane Dembele's introduction added more urgency in the Barcelona attack as he headed a Jordi Alba cross over the bar from a promising position.
On the overall balance of play, though, a goalless draw was probably the right result on a night that was full of drama and intensity but lacked attacking fluidity.
Up next for Barcelona is a trip to Levante on Tuesday, while Atletico Madrid host Real Sociedad a day later as the La Liga title race heats up.
On that note, let's take a look at five talking points from the game.
#1 The La Liga title race is well and truly on
At the turn of the year, Atletico Madrid were odds-on favourites to win a second league title this century, while Barcelona were far from certain about a top-four finish.
However, the tides have since turned, Atletico Madrid's stutter, Barcelona's near-invincibility and Real Madrid's doggedness have combined to produce arguably the most thrilling title race in Europe this season.
Even Sevilla in fourth place are not entirely out of the reckoning, despite their narrow 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao on Monday.
Nevertheless, this draw means the La Liga title race is wide open, with just three points separating the top three sides with three rounds of games to go.
A victory for either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid would have put them in a more favourable position entering the final three game weeks, but avoiding defeat to a direct rival was also a gain.
#2 Barcelona's unbeaten home run continues against Atletico Madrid
One of the biggest sub-plots in the La Liga in the last decade was Diego Simeone's struggles against Barcelona.
For all the gains made by Atletico Madrid under the wily Argentine tactician, the Blaugrana have always been a major albatross for the capital side in the La Liga.
Diego Simeone finally got a league victory against Barcelona at the 18th time of asking early this season when Yannick Carrasco's first-half goal decided the game at the Wanda Metropolitano in November.
That win would have given Los Colchoneros a massive boost heading into this clash. But Atletico Madrid had the weight of history against them, as they had not won a league game at the Camp Nou since 2006.
Barcelona's impressive home record against Atletico Madrid continued. But the draw is a bittersweet result for the hosts, who would have preferred to get all three points to bolster their title hopes.