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Barcelona and Atletico Madrid shared the spoils in a key 2020-21 La Liga clash at the Camp Nou. Following the goalless stalemate, the door is now ajar for Real Madrid to go top of the table if they win at Sevilla on Sunday.
The Rojiblancos were the better side in the first half but often ran into the hulking frame of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, as the German custodian kept Barcelona in the game with a series of key stops.
Barcelona improved after the break, but clear-cut opportunities remained at a premium. Lionel Messi could have won the game late on for Barcelona but whizzed a free-kick narrowly wide off the post.
Despite both sides managing a combined 13 shots on target, there were no goals to show for their efforts. On that note, let's have a look at the five hits and flops from the game:
Hit: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Another big match, another big performance from the Barcelona ace. But a goal that could have lifted his team above Atletico Madrid was conspicuous by its absence.
Lionel Messi was at the heart of proceedings, and everything good coming from Barcelona flowed through their captain.
The Argentine made three key passes in the game and completed five of his nine attempted dribbles. One of them was an amazing, lung-bursting run in the second half that nearly resulted in a goal for Barcelona.
Flop: Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)
With only three goals and no assists in his last 11 games, Luis Suarez was due a big performance. But that was not to be on his return to the Camp Nou.
The Uruguayan managed three limp efforts on target and could not make a single key pass. The only time he buried the ball into the net in the second half, the referee had already blown his whistle for a foul in the build-up.
Suarez's performance epitomised a clumsy outing by his team as Atletico Madrid could've taken all three points with more precision and cutting edge.
Hit: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)
If there's a case to be made for Marc-Andre ter Stegen being as important to Barcelona's cause as Messi, this game was it. The German custodian stood tall in the face of Atletico Madrid's early onslaught as he bagged a creditable clean sheet.
Inside the opening ten minutes of the game alone, Ter Stegen denied Thomas Lemar and Luis Suarez. He also read the game adeptly, thwarting danger on four occasions.
Flop: Oscar Mingueza (Barcelona)
In a match where there were no overly poor performances from Barcelona, Oscar Mingueza stood out like a sore thumb, though. The Spaniard endured a difficult outing against Yannick Carrasco and often appeared to be in no man's land.
As the Rojiblancos broke forward at will in dangerous counter-attacks, Mingueza struggled to cope with their pace. Luis Suarez even had some free runs down the flank. Ronald Koeman responding by hooking the player off at half-time.
Hit: Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Jan Oblak has long been hailed as the best goalkeeper in the world. He certainly did his burgeoning credentials no harm with a terrific outing. He produced seven big saves for denying Barcelona, helping the league leaders take a rare point from their visit to the Camp Nou.
Oblak made two saves to keep out Messi, one off a free-kick and the other from open play. The Slovenian made up for Atletico's poor finishing with another fine performance as he registered his 18th clean sheet of the season.
