Why Barca's Atleti stalemate could prove so costly, if La Liga comes down to the wire

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By Conor Laird

Published: May 8, 2021 6:06 pm

Last Updated: May 8, 2021 6:09 pm

Barcelona again failed to get the job done against one of their La Liga title rivals this afternoon, with the potential ramifications for the Blaugrana come the season’s end of major significance.

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Spoils shared

Ronald Koeman’s men were of course back in action a short time ago.

The Catalans welcomed Atletico Madrid to the Camp Nou, for a crunch showdown in the race for the La Liga title.

Ahead of kick-off, it was the visitors who boasted the advantage, sitting pretty atop the Spanish top-flight, with four games to play.

Barca, though, sat just two points back of Diego Simeone and co., meaning a victory, evidently, would have guided them back to the summit.

As outlined above, however, when all was said and done on Saturday afternoon, the Blaugrana, again, came up short.

A scrappy 90 minutes in Catalunya, during which both sides struggled to carve out clear cut chances, eventually played out into a disappointing 0-0 stalemate.

Messi just puts a free kick wide with the clock ticking down! ?

What a moment that would have been, but it finishes 0-0 and the LaLiga title race remains wide open ? pic.twitter.com/ZmbKVFcuUB

— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) May 8, 2021

Concern for Barca

The eventual result at the Camp Nou, though, could yet prove even more costly for Barcelona than a simple pair of points dropped, come the season’s end.

This comes with Ronald Koeman having now guided the Blaugrana to a draw and a defeat across two meetings with Atletico Madrid this season.

In turn, if, come the conclusion of the campaign, Barca and Atleti are locked on points at the La Liga summit, the latter will be crowned champions, due to their superior head-to-head record.

Koeman’s Barça have taken only one point from their four #LaLiga games against Real Madrid and Atlético. That also means FCB would lose out to either on head-to-head record if there is a tie at the end of the season… #BarçaAtleti https://t.co/oEgF9JsfvP

— Ben Hayward (@bghayward) May 8, 2021

Not only that, but the Catalans also fell to defeat in both of their Clasico showdowns with Real Madrid, meaning a similar finish alongside Los Blancos at the top of the Spanish top-flight would too see Barca miss out on the title.

As revealed by statistician MisterChip, meanwhile, this season marks the first since 1965 in which Barcelona have managed just a solitary point across four league meetings with the giants of Madrid.

#OJOALDATO – El Barcelona solo ha sumado 1 punto en sus 4 duelos ligueros contra Real Madrid y Atlético de Madrid en La Liga 2020-21. Es su balance más pobre en una misma temporada ante ambos equipos desde la campaña… 1964-65!!! (en la que perdió sus 4 partidos contra ATM-RMA). pic.twitter.com/eGKFqzmakp

— MisterChip (Alexis) (@2010MisterChip) May 8, 2021