Madrid, May 12: Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman stared in disbelief from the bench. Lionel Messi walked with his head down near midfield. Defender Clement Lenglet batted the ball away with his hands in frustration after being called for a foul.
Barcelona missed yet another chance to reach the top after blowing a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw at Levante on Tuesday. Barcelona was up 2-0 and 3-2 but couldn’t hold on, despite knowing that a win would have put the team provisionally ahead of Atletico Madrid.
The draw left the Catalan club one point behind Atletico, which will host fifth-place Real Sociedad on Wednesday. Barcelona is one point ahead of defending champion Real Madrid, which visits 10th-place Granada on Thursday.
Sevilla also remains in contention for the title as it trails Atletico by six points ahead of its home game against mid-table Valencia on Wednesday.
Messi, in what could be his last season with Barcelona, opened the scoring in the 25th minute with his league-leading 29th goal, hitting the net with a volley from inside the area after a cross by Jordi Alba that deflected on a defender and landed softly in front of the Argentina star.
Pedri Gonzalez added to the lead in the 34th with a shot from near the penalty spot after a pass by Ousmane Dembele, but the hosts needed a span of only two minutes to even the match in the second half.
Levante pulled closer with a header by Gonzalo Melero in the 57th, and Jos Luis Morales equalized with a shot from inside the area in the 59th after a bad pass by Messi outside the Barcelona area. Sergio Leon equalized again in the 83rd completing a low cross inside the area after American defender Sergiño Dest slipped while trying to fend off his opponent.
In other matches, second-to-last-place Elche lost 2-0 at home against Alaves, while Osasuna defeated visiting Cádiz CF 3-2 in a match between mid-table teams. (AP)
