Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid: Score and Reaction from 2016 LaLiga Match

Atletico Madrid held Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou on Wednesday as the pair failed to capitalise on Real Madrid's failure to beat Villarreal earlier in the day.

Ivan Rakitic headed Barca in front toward the end of the first half, but Angel Correa made an instant impact off the bench, drawing the visitors level shortly after the hour mark.

A tight opening period produced few chances as Barca controlled the ball, but both sides had opportunities in an absorbing and tempestuous second half.

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Atleti set about getting men behind the ball with Barcelona in possession, with the aim of hitting the hosts on the counter-attack.

The visitors were industrious, though, and limited the Blaugrana to just two attempts of note in the opening stages—shots by Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta that goalkeeper Jan Oblak dealt with comfortably.

At the other end of the pitch, Yannick Carrasco stung goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen's palms and fired another effort wide.

The hosts dominated possession, but with Atletico remaining resolute at the back, it was not until the 41st minute that Barcelona were able to make a significant breakthrough, when Rakitic glanced in a corner.

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As Bleacher Report's Rik Sharma noted, the Croatian has a habit of putting Barca in front, while football writer Sid Lowe hailed his contribution:

Antoine Griezmann kicked off an open second half when he raced forward and tested Ter Stegen with a low strike, and the Frenchman sent another effort off-target minutes later.

Things took a turn for the hosts, who saw injuries force Sergio Busquets and Messi off the pitch.

Per Squawka Football, Atletico took full advantage:

After Gerard Pique missed an interception, Correa latched on to the ball and capitalised on a slip by Javier Mascherano to bring Los Rojiblancos level, as Sky Sports showed:

Neymar led Barca's charge for a winner, whipping a powerful effort toward goal, but despite seeing it late, Oblak proved equal to the strike.

The Brazilian almost turned into the provider when he picked out Pique off a free-kick, but the defender directed his header inches wide.

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Meanwhile, some heavy challenges flew in on both sides—Luis Suarez was booked for a foul on Filipe Luis, who picked up a yellow card of his own for a late tackle on Arda Turan.

As the game neared its conclusion, Ter Stegen demonstrated his impressive reflexes when he tipped Diego Godin's powerful header over the bar.

The draw wasn't an ideal result for either side as they look to close the gap on Real, but they did not lose ground, with Villarreal holding Los Blancos to a 1-1 draw as well.

The visitors will be more pleased with the point, while Barca will focus on Messi and Busquets following their early substitutions because of fitness concerns.

Post-Match Reaction

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique reflected on the match and the loss of Messi, which the club confirmed on Twitter will keep him out for around three weeks:

Meanwhile, per the official Atletico Twitter account, Simeone said: "We talked during the half-time and in the first 20 minutes of the second half you could see a bit of what we wanted to do."