Barcelona loses Lionel Messi to groin strain in 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid

It wasn’t a particularly good night for any of the Big Three in Spain’s La Liga. Real Madrid dropped points in a 1-1 tie at Villareal earlier in the night. And then Barcelona and Atletico Madrid played to a 1-1 stalemate in Catalonia.

Worse still for the defending champions, both Lionel Messi and midfield anchor Sergio Busquets had to leave the game injured early in the second half. Barcelona announced after the game that Messi had suffered a groin strain and will be out for around three weeks.

A close game followed a predictable script. Barca had the ball; Atletico counter-punched when it managed to steal it. And the home team probably deserved the win on the strength of its scoring chances.

They had a credible shout for a penalty on a handball.

And then Messi had a look, although it didn’t trouble goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

Luis Suarez got a shot off, but it was blocked by Diego Godin.

Finally, in the 41st minute, Barca took its lead. The ageless Andres Iniesta swung in a tight cross that Ivan Rakitic nodded past Oblak.

But by the time an hour had been played, Sergio had come off and then Messi apparently re-injured that adductor muscle that has bothered him before. He sat down and had to be substituted.

Within a minute, a pair of Atletico substitutes tied it up. Fernando Torres flicked on a pass for Angel Correa through Gerard Pique’s legs. Javier Mascherano slipped on the play and watched Correa stride through the line and score off the near post.

It would keep raining chances until the end. Pique, who had an excellent game aside from the goal conceded, headed just wide and Jordi Alba smashed his finish high from a tricky angle on a counter.

Diego Godin then also got a chance to steal a result for Atletico.

The wasted points will sting Barca – while Atleti might well feel there was more to be had than the lone away point – given the ample chances to claim a win. But the long-term loss of Messi will be far more painful.

Messi, plainly, is hard to replace. This team has suffered in his absence in the past, even though Suarez, Neymar and Paco Alcacer offer plenty of alternatives up front. But equally hard to replace is Busquets and his crucial two-way work in shielding the back line on one end as a stopper and setting off the attacks on the other as the first distributor as the ball moves up the field.

Considering that Barca won the title by just one point over Real and three over Atletico last season, this early-season night could prove influential as the campaign reaches its climax eight months from now in May.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.