Lionel Messi scored his 12th goal of the season and sixth in his last five games, securing a superb late winner for Barça in their 1-0 victory against Atletico Madrid on Sunday at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Messi is the favourite to win a record-breaking sixth Ballon d’Or in Paris on Monday.
‘In matches that are close and intense, having Leo is always a big advantage,’ said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde after the game.
Messi’s 86th-minute goal, after a slick one-two with Luis Suarez, keeps Barça level on points with Real Madrid at the top of the table, after Real won 2-1 away to Alaves on Saturday.
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‘It’s important for the three points but also for the mental side,’ said Valverde. ‘It sends us into the Christmas period with confidence.’
Atletico Madrid are now six points adrift of both Barça and Real Madrid. The two top clubs also have a game in hand which will be played out in the season’s first El Clásico at the Camp Nou on 18 December.
‘We need points,’ said Atletico coach Diego Simeone. ‘We are not far from them but we are worried. I am happy with the way we are playing but I will not smile at that because that does not bring us points.’
Antoine Griezmann was whistled on his return to his former club, whom he left for 120m euros to join Barcelona in the close season.
Earlier on Sunday, third-placed Sevilla stayed just one point behind Real Madrid and Barça with a 1-0 victory over Leganes.
Julen Lopetegui‘s side extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 matches.
La Liga results from Matchday 15 (of 38) played between 29 November – 1 December
Played Friday 29 November
Celta Vigo 0 Valladolid 0
Played Saturday 30 November
Alaves 1 Real Madrid 2
Real Sociedad 4 Eibar 1
Mallorca 1 Real Betis 2
Valencia 2 Villarreal 1
Played Sunday 2 December
Sevilla 1 Leganes 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 Granada 0
Espanyol 2 Osasuna 4
Getafe 4 Levante 0
Atletico Madrid 0 Barcelona 2
La Liga Table – Monday 2 December 2019
(Played, Won, Drawn, Lost, Goals For/Against, Points)
Barcelona 14 10 1 3 36 16 31
Real Madrid 14 9 4 1 30 11 31
Sevilla 15 9 3 3 19 14 30
Real Sociedad 15 8 2 5 26 18 26
Athletic Bilbao 15 7 5 3 17 9 26
Atletico Madrid 15 6 7 2 16 10 25
Getafe 15 6 6 3 23 16 24
Valencia 15 6 5 4 22 21 23
Osasuna 15 5 7 3 21 17 22
Granada 15 6 3 6 20 20 21
Levante 15 6 2 7 18 21 20
Real Betis 15 5 4 6 19 25 19
Villarreal 15 5 3 7 28 24 18
Alaves 15 5 3 7 17 20 18
Valladolid 15 4 6 5 14 18 18
Eibar 15 4 3 8 15 27 15
Mallorca 15 4 2 9 14 23 14
Celta Vigo 15 3 4 8 10 20 13
Espanyol 15 2 3 10 10 28 9
Leganes 15 1 3 11 8 25 6
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ALSO READ: La Liga round-up (5): Karim Benzema puts Real Madrid level on points at top of La Liga
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ALSO READ: La Liga round-up (2): Griezmann scores Barça double
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