Atlético Madrid draws with Barcelona and maintains its Liga lead.

MADRID, Spain (AP) — On Saturday, Atlético Madrid maintained their lead in the Spanish league by holding Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at the Camp Nou Stadium.

With three rounds remaining, Atlético Madrid remained two points ahead of Barcelona, poised to win its first league title since 2014.

If defending champion Real Madrid defeats Sevilla at home on Sunday, Atlético could be surpassed. Madrid trails Atlético by three points but would take the lead because of the head-to-head tiebreaker with its city rival.

Sevilla trailed Atlético by seven points and remained a title contender.

“We demonstrated from the start that we came out to win the game,” said Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak. “It was a good result; we gained another point with three rounds remaining.”

Atlético played well at the Camp Nou but couldn't convert its chances, with Luis Suárez failing to score against his former club.

Lionel Messi had some of Barcelona's few chances, the best coming near the end of the first half after a great run past defenders. Oblak, the goalkeeper, saved his shot brilliantly. Messi's free kick in the 90th minute just missed the post.

This may be Messi's final opportunity to win the league with Barcelona before his contract expires at the end of the season. He stated last year that he intended to leave the Catalan club.

In the 70th minute, Barcelona defender Ronald Arajo had a goal disallowed for offside.

“We expected a better result, but we're still alive,” said Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué. “We played a good match, we competed, we had more clear chances than they did, but we couldn't get the win in the end. We no longer rely on our own results, but anything is possible.”

Barcelona would have taken the lead for the first time this season if they had won at home. The club got off to a shaky start due to financial difficulties and political upheaval.

Since Diego Simeone took over as coach in 2011 Atlético has been without window at Camp Nou. In 15 consecutive matches since 2006, the team is winless against Barcelona. However, a draw of 1-1 was enough for Atlético to win its final title in the stadium in 2014.

Barcelona was beginning to do all that but the coach Ronald Koeman was absent in his argument with the referee to serve the second of a two-game suspension.

Thomas Lemar, a midfielder from Atlético, has suffered injuries in less than 15 minutes, while Sergio Busquets from Barcelona, left 30 minutes after being injured in his head.

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