Luis Suarez’s 82nd-minute header denied Atletico Madrid a first LaLiga win over Barcelona in seven years.

Barca’s perfect start to the league campaign ended with a 1-1 draw in the capital, though they were on course to leave empty-handed when Saul Niguez fired home after 21 minutes.

Here is our player ratings…

ATLETICO MADRID

Jan Oblak 7 – Made a couple of great saves, especially to keep out a snapshot from Suarez, but maybe could have covered his near post for Suarez’s leveller.

Juanfran 5 – Never looked comfortable defending against Alba and offered little going forward.

Savic 6 – Made some good blocks and interceptions but lost Suarez for the equalising goal and was lucky not to concede a penalty for handball.

Godin 7 – Block, tackle, head, clear. Copy and paste ad infinitum.

Luis 6 – Usual attacking intentions inhibited by the necessity of defending against Messi, and did a decent enough job.

Koke 6 – Saw more of the ball than any other Atletico player but didn’t always use it with his usual accuracy. Initially struggled to contain Iniesta.

Gabi 7 – Commanding performance in the centre of the field but tired before being replaced with ten minutes remaining.

Saul 8 – Man of the match. A brilliant goal and an excellent display overall, purposeful and skilful in attack and tigerish in defence.

Carrasco 5 – One of ‘those’ performances from a frustrating player. Rarely got involved and was substituted with 20 minutes left.

Correa 6 – Worked hard to support Griezmann but offered no real goal threat.

Griezmann 7 – Twice came close to scoring in the early stages, linked play well and always looked dangerous.

SUBS

Gaitan 5 – First introduction from Atletico’s bench but made little impact.

Thomas 5 – Struggled to get into the pace of the game after being introduced into midfield.

Torres 4 – Barely had a touch but still gave the ball away a few times.

BARCELONA

Ter Stegen 7 – Did brilliantly with his first save from Griezmann at the near post and had no chance for the goal.

Semedo 5 – Poor game from the Portuguese, who looked vulnerable at the back, offered nothing in attack and was substituted early.

Pique 6 – Had his hands full with Griezmann but was constructive with the ball, regularly building play from the back.

Umtiti 8 – A tower of strength, as he has been throughout the season. Physically imposing and reads the game so well.

Alba 6 – Had plenty of possession as Barca’s first attacking outlet but didn’t use the ball as well as he should.

Gomes 6 – Really poor on the right of midfield in the first half, but improved a lot after being moved to the left flank.

Rakitic 6 – Rather anonymous and lost his personal battle against Saul before being replaced.

Busquets 7 – Excellent use of possession, as always, knitting his team together and maintaining the overall tactical shape.

Iniesta 6 – The focal point of his team’s creative play in the first half, always looking to make something happen, but only lasted an hour.

Messi 7 – Couldn’t exert his usual influence but still had more goal attempts than anyone else, hitting the post with a fizzing free-kick.

Suarez 7 – A non-factor in the opening period but came alive after the break, regularly threatening to score and finally grabbing the equaliser.

SUBS

Roberto 7 – Excellent half-hour from the right back slot, including a perfectly placed cross for Suarez’s goal.

Deulofeu 6 – Up and down outing from the winger, taking up good positions to threaten Atletico but often lacking end product.

Paulinho 5 – Late entrant to add attacking muscle but had little involvement.