La Liga champions Barcelona's domestic struggles continued as they dropped points for the third game in a row, drawing 1-1 at home to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday after Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets had begun the match on the substitutes' bench.

Coach Valverde said the pair needed some rest to cope with a crammed schedule, with Barca visiting Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League next week.

"I have to judge the games we have coming up, and we have four games in the space of 10 days," Valverde told a news conference.

Substitute Munir El Haddadi averted a first home defeat for Barca in more than two years by sliding in an equalizer in the 84th minute, meeting a cross by Messi who had been sent on, along with Busquets, in the second half as Barca chased the game.

Oscar de Marcos had given Athletic a deserved lead in the 41st minute with a volley after Inaki Williams had missed two clear chances to score for the Basque side, who had not picked up a point at the Nou Camp since 2004 when current Barca coach Ernesto Valverde was in charge.

"We are not anxious because the season is long and has only just started, but we are angry about the last results," Messi told reporters. 

"We didn't expect them. We have to improve and become stronger in defense, which is the most important thing."

Messi's strike partner, Luis Suarez, also criticized the team's display and said they needed to rid themselves of their dependence on their all-time top scorer.

"He is the best in the world, but we can't rely on Leo to always sort everything out for us," Suarez said. "The other players here are here on our own merits, and we can't depend on him or Busquets, we should have been winning when they came on to the pitch."

Real fail to exploit Barca's slip

Real Madrid missed the chance to go two points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga as they drew 0-0 with Atletico Madrid in an edgy, but entertaining, local derby in which the outstanding players were the two goalkeepers.

Real's Thibaut Courtois made two exceptional saves in the first half to thwart Atletico strikers Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa, while his opposite number, Jan Oblak, rescued the visitors with two cold-blooded stops after the interval to deny Marco Asensio and Dani Carvajal.

Gareth Bale came close to scoring for Real in the first half but was substituted at the start of the second, and his side improved without their record signing, almost snatching a winner in stoppage time when captain Sergio Ramos headed narrowly wide.

Real are joint-top of the standings, locked on 14 points with Barcelona, who have a slightly superior goal difference, despite their surprise 1-1 draw at home to Athletic Bilbao.

Atletico, 12 points, drop down to fourth, while Sevilla climbs into third, with 13 points, after winning 3-1 at Eibar.