It was far from Lionel Messi’s best game but the Argentina captain was on hand to score the late winner that not only snatched all three points from Atlético Madrid but kept Barcelona hot on the heels of Real Madrid.

Until Madrid’s victory a little while later over Villarreal, Barcelona were top and there is at least still a belief that Luis Enrique’s side could win the title despite not playing particularly well.

Diego Godin’s header which had cancelled out Rafinha’s earlier goal looked to deprive Barcelona of a crucial two points until the 86th minute.

Luis Suárez helped the ball into the path of Messi and although his first shot was blocked, La Liga’s leading scorer was alert to poke the rebound past Jan Oblak for his 20th of the season.