Spain: An equaliser from Neymar saw Barcelona salvage a 1-1 draw at home to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday after a stunning opener by substitute Diego Ribas in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Atletico's chances were dealt a major blow half an hour in when striker Diego Costa came off injured. Barcelona had lost defender Gerard Pique to injury before that.
But Diego Ribas stunned the Camp Nou 56 minutes in with a powerful shot from about 25 meters (yards) that grazed the fingertips of goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto as it soared into the top corner.
With Lionel Messi kept quiet by Atletico's well-organized defense, Neymar stepped up to curl the equaliser around goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the 71st.
Courtois made a number of acrobatic stops after that to preserve the draw, including in the 85th when he tipped Messi's free kick around the post.
However, Atletico leave with a valuable away goal before the return on April 9.
In Tuesday's other quarter-final first leg, defending champion Bayern Munich drew 1-1 at Manchester United.
For the fourth time this season, neither team emerged victorious but Atletico return to the Vicente Calderon buoyed by their performance after having lost their top player.
While Pique's exit hurt Barcelona's brittle defense, Diego Costa's injury left the visitors without their leading scorer and scrambling for options off the bench with Raul Garcia suspended. Diego Ribas was the lone option.
Striker David Villa had Atletico's best scoring chances in the first half as the former Barcelona forward curled wide a clear opportunity from inside the area five minutes in - before forcing Pinto into a diving stop just before halftime.
Between those efforts, Barcelona dominated possession, with Diego Godin's sliding block keeping Andres Iniesta's effort out before Diego Costa pulled up clutching his right thigh.
Atletico's physical play proved wearing for Barcelona, and pressured Pinto into errant goal kicks like the one that gave Villa his opening opportunity.
Courtois was alert to a Messi header to keep it scoreless at the break, but Atletico regrouped and emerged for the restart to stun the hosts with Diego Ribas' opener.
Neymar and Messi failed to link up on a cross in the 65th, as Atletico's back four continued to make life difficult for the Spanish champions - until Iniesta spotted Neymar's run and the Brazil striker curled his shot around Courtois.
The goal lifted the Camp Nou crowd and turned the tables on Atletico. But Courtois settled his team's nerves by making a diving save to Iniesta's long-range shot in the 73rd minute, before then stopping a late effort from Messi.
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