http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/sports/soccer/barcelona-lionel-messi-injury-atletico-madrid.html 2016-09-22 02:32:30 Messi’s Injury and a Missed Opportunity Rattle Nerves in Barcelona In a span of about 60 seconds, Barcelona’s momentum seemed to be halted as Lionel Messi left with an injury and Atlético Madrid scored in a disappointing 1-1 draw. === BARCELONA, Spain — Perhaps a minute elapsed between Lionel Messi’s trudging off the field as he dejectedly clutched his left thigh and Angel Correa’s joyously clenching his fist as he celebrated the goal that brought Atlético Madrid a point at Before that minute, Barcelona was cruising. But after that point, everything felt different. Atlético and Barcelona drew, 1-1, which meant that Real Madrid, their mistake unpunished, won. Barcelona remains 3 points back and will now be without Messi for at least three weeks because of a groin strain, as the team announced after the game. An absence of that length will be bearable. If it stretches any longer — a few weeks, a few months — and, even with Neymar, Luis Suárez and Andrés Iniesta around, Catalan nerves would start to shred. That is not simply because, without Messi, Barcelona is just a little less formidable. There is another factor, too, that made those 60 seconds between his injury and Correa’s goal seem so seismic. The standings at the top of La Liga, more than any other elite league in Europe, depend on the finest of margins. In the cash-soaked mayhem of the English Premier League, contenders for championships can take solace after any stumble knowing that their rivals will have their low moments, too. The competition’s upwardly mobile middle classes increasingly guarantee that. In Italy, Germany and France, the financial advantage enjoyed by Juventus, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain means those three teams can absorb the occasional setback over the course of the campaign: To take advantage, after all, their closest competitors have to reach a pitch of sustained perfection that has proved, in recent years, entirely beyond them. Juventus effectively gave Napoli a five-match head start last year, and still claimed Serie A comfortably. Spain’s all-powerful triumvirate of Barcelona, Atlético and Real Madrid, by contrast, knows each and every slip could carry a heavy price, so assured is their superiority and so vast are their points tallies. Barcelona and Atlético have already had theirs: Barcelona losing at home to lowly Alaves last week; and Atlético starting the season with two disappointing ties, against Leganes and Alaves. Even just five games into the season, there was a sense that Barcelona, in particular, could not afford another. The players felt it — Iniesta suggested last week, after that reverse against Alaves, that there was no more room for error — and the fans did, too. A couple of hours before kickoff, the streets around Camp Nou heaved with supporters clad in their azulgrana shirts. The bars and cafes on Carrer de la Riera Blanca were packed, fans taking advantage of the absurdly late, television-dictated kick off – the match finished at almost exactly midnight, local time – to take their time over their bocadillos. There was, though, also an eerie hush. Every bar had screens showing Real’s game in Madrid; almost every head was turned toward them. Everyone knew that what was about to happen here could only be fully understood in the context of what had happened there. That is what, in the words of the newspaper Sport, made this “the most painful cut.” Villarreal had offered Barcelona a chance to atone for its error, and it had been spurned. To some, of course, the quality of the opponent might have offered a balm. Atlético has reached two Champions League finals in three seasons and, in Diego Simeone and Antoine Griezmann, possess perhaps the finest coach, pound for pound, in the world, and one of soccer’s most rapidly rising stars. Just as importantly, there is a compelling argument that Atlético has become a sort of anti-Barcelona, with Simeone’s fevered pressing, his demand for endless industry and his inculcation of an indomitable fighting spirit all perfectly suited to stifling Barcelona’s expressionism, depriving Messi and the rest of space, denying them room even to breathe. To many, though, Atlético remains Madrid’s second team and very much Spain’s third, the Crassus to La Liga’s Caesar and Pompey. Simeone has never beaten Barcelona in league play – though Atlético did eliminate the Catalan side in the Champions League quarterfinals last season — and, before this meeting, had managed only two draws. Little wonder, then, that the third seemed to hit so hard. As soon as Correa had canceled out Ivan Rakitic’s opening goal, Camp Nou grew fractious. Every decision David Fernández Borbalán, the referee, gave against the host was greeted with disdain; every wayward pass, every wrong decision triggered howls of protest. When Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba missed late chances, there was even a touch of desperation. It is still only September. Thirty-three games remain, a colossal 99 points available. Nothing has been decided; no dies have yet been cast. It would be easy to write off such restlessness as proof of how Barcelona has spoiled its supporters in recent years, how accustomed the crowd here has grown to winning without even breaking a sweat, how expectations have soared so high that many seem to believe victory comes with the ticket. That, though, would be to misunderstand the exigencies of a Spanish title race. Real Madrid will drop points, of course, but there is no guarantee of how many, or how soon. This is not a league that affords many second chances. It is, instead, a league in which every minute has to be perfect.