Lionel Messi scored a penalty and missed another as La Liga leaders Barcelona ground out an unconvincing 1-0 win over Real Valladolid, while Antoine Griezmann surpassed Fernando Torres with his 130th goal for Atletico Madrid.
Messi's fitness was again in the spotlight on Saturday after a niggling thigh strain in recent weeks, but he completed the full 90 minutes at the Camp Nou and hit the 30-goal mark at Barcelona for the 11th straight season.
Messi's first penalty opportunity proved good enough in an uninspiring 1-0 victory over Valladolid at Camp Nou in the Spanish league on Saturday. But Barcelona's all-time leading scorer had a second spot-kick stopped by goalie Jordi Masip.
Barcelona, which had drawn three games in a row across all competitions, visits Lyon on Tuesday in the opening leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie.
Messi found himself booked for dissent after an apparent foul on him went unpunished, and he then blew the chance to kill off Valladolid when Masip kept out his second penalty of the night – awarded following a trip on Philippe Coutinho.
The excellent Masip alertly gathered Messi's follow-up header and again denied Suarez late on as Barca pulled seven points clear of Atletico ahead of their trip to Lyon in the Champions League last 16.
Messi and his teammates missed chances to put away Valladolid, and when they did arrive Masip was up to the challenge.
Messi beat Masip with a perfectly executed spot-kick two minutes before halftime. But Masip, a former Barcelona backup, smothered his second strike that Messi sent to the same left side of the goalie.
Masip said he didn't learn any tricks to stopping Messi when they used to practice together.
"I don't know, I never saved many of his penalties," Masip said. "He took the first one very well, but I was able to stop the second one. It is bittersweet. We had the chance to take a draw."
Barcelona increased its league lead to seven points over Atletico, which moved past Real Madrid into second place before its cross-town rival plays on Sunday.
Atletico's 1-0 win at Rayo Vallecano thanks to a late goal by Antoine Griezmann broke a run of consecutive losses before Atletico hosts Juventus on Wednesday in the Champions League.
The points could have been sealed with five minutes to spare, but Messi was unable to convert from the penalty spot for a second time after Keko tripped Coutinho in the box, going the same way as his first effort but meeting his match in Masip.
Messi's next shot from 20 yards drifted wide of the target and Suarez was guilty of missing another glorious opportunity in the final throes, but the hosts' poor finishing mattered little in the end as they claimed all three points.
