Lionel Messi reaches goal milestone but Barcelona drifts away from title race

Barcelona drew 2-2 with Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Tuesday. As a result, the Catalans are sitting firmly in second place in the Spanish league, trailing one point behind leaders Real Madrid. They could potentially end up four points adrift if Madrid wins against Getafe on Thursday. Los Blancos have 71 points in 32 games, and Barcelona has played one extra match than their arch-rivals.

In the match against Atletico, Barca captain Lionel Messi scored his 700th career goal from a penalty in the 50th minute. Barcelona's all-time highest scorer netted the landmark goal by gently chipping the ball in as Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak dived towards the wrong side.

Messi's goal put Barcelona 2-1 ahead. However, Atletico fought back to score the second equaliser of the match.

Previously, Barcelona had gone up 1-0, courtesy of Diego Costa's own goal in the 11th minute. But soon, the visitors levelled the score 1-1 from Saul Niguez' penalty in the 19th minute. Saul struck again in the 62nd minute to ensure that his side leaves Camp Nou with at least a point.

Messi's penalty marked his 630th goal for Barcelona in 724 appearances. The Argentine behemoth had a role behind his club's opener as well, as his whipped corner hit Costa and deflected into the net.

Former Chelsea forward Costa quickly got a chance to pay back when Atletico was awarded a penalty after Yannick Carrasco was fouled inside the box. The 31-year old Spaniard's attempt was saved by Barca keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. However, Atletico was allowed to retake the shot because Ter Stegen had come off his line early. Niguez then took full advantage of the opportunity.

According to BBC, Messi's 700th career goal came just over 14 months after he scored his 600th for Barcelona. The six-time Ballon d'Or winner became only the seventh player to have reached the 700-goal mark. Czech-Austrian Josef Bican leads the chart with 805 goals, followed by Brazilian legend Romario with 772.

Pele is third on the list with 767 goals. Hungary's Ferenc Puskas has 746 goals to his name, while former German striker Gerd Muller is fifth with 735 goals. Messi's on-field rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, is ranked sixth on the list with 726 goals.

Although Messi reached a unique milestone that not many footballers before him achieved, he wouldn't be happy. It was Barca's second consecutive draw and the third draw in their last four La Liga encounters.

This means that the defending champions now not only trail Real Madrid, but also face the threat of losing their Spanish title. Technically, if Real Madrid wins all their games, they will clinch the 2019-20 title, leaving no room for Barca to recover.