Barcelona failed to beat Cadiz at the Camp Nou on Sunday afternoon after Alex Fernandez’s late penalty canceled Lionel Messi’s first-half penalty.

The result means Ronald Koeman’s men didn’t take advantage of Atletico Madrid’s slip-up on Saturday against Levante.

Diego Simeone’s men played their last two La Liga matches against Levante, and both games ended with Atletico dropping points and losing steam in the La Liga title race.

The first game between Atletico Madrid and Levante was during the week, with both teams sharing spoils.

However, on Saturday at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, Levante took all three points with a 2-0 win.

Mario Hermoso’s own goal and a late goal from Jorge de Frutos ended Atletico’s unbeaten run in the La Liga in 2021.

The loss allowed Real Madrid to cut the gap from seven points to three as they capitalized and defeated Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday.

Zinedine Zidane was without Karim Benzema for the game on Saturday evening, but Casemiro’s 65th-minute header secured Real Madrid’s win.

The win is Real’s fourth consecutive win in all competitions, and they now have 52 points from 24 games, having played one more than Atletico Madrid, who still has a game in hand.

Meanwhile, Barcelona is now eight points behind league leaders Atlético Madrid, with 47 points from 23 games played.

It marks a bad week for the Blaugrana after their 4-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg.

However, Atletico Madrid will hope to improve on the recent form when they host Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg on Tuesday.

Furthermore, fellow Madrid rivals, Real Madrid, will play Atalanta in their Round of 16 UEFA Champions League first leg encounter. While Atletico Madrid will face Chelsea.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu