Atletico Madrid did their neighbours Real Madrid a favour by denying FC Barcelona three points at the Camp Nou on Tuesday evening.
LaLiga
Result: FC Barcelona 2-2 Atletico Madrid
Date: 30 June 2020
Venue: Camp Nou
Click through the gallery to see images from Barcelona's entertaining draw with Atletico.
Once again there was no place for Antoine Griezmann in the starting line-up for the hosts, while Ansu Fati also dropped to the bench.
It was a lively start at the Camp Nou as the hosts took the lead in fortunate circumstances on 11 minutes when Diego Costa deflected the ball into his own net.
Costa had a chance to redeem himself four minutes later when Atletico were awarded penalty, but the Spaniard's effort was saved Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
However, the referee ordered a retake as Ter Stegen came off his line too early but Saul Niguez took responsibility this time and levelled matters from 12 yards out.
The Catalan giants pushed for a second goal as first half went on, with Messi hitting the woodwork while the Argentine superstar was denied by Jan Oblak just before the break.
The hosts were awarded a penalty six minutes after the restart when Nelson Semedo had been brought down in the box. Messi stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards to restore the lead.
The was more penalty drama as Atletico were awarded their second spot-kick of the game after Semedo went from hero to villain by clipping the heels of Yannick Carrasco, which allowed Saul to slot home once again and complete his brace.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone went for a more attacking approach in the final 20 minutes, with Marcos Llorente making way for record signing Joao Felix.
With time running out, Arturo Vidal squandered a chance to restore Barcelona's lead on 75 minutes after firing wide of the upright after goal-mouth scramble.
Both sides went full out in the final stages in search of the winning goal but neither were successful, as Barcelona missed the chance to move top ahead of Real Madrid's clash against Getafe on Wednesday.
