Lewandowski misses first penalty at new Camp Nou

Robert Lewandowski spurned a chance to give Barcelona a 2-1 lead in the first half against Atletico Madrid as he missed the first penalty at the revamped Camp Nou.

Atleti had taken the lead in the 19th minute when Alex Baena broke the deadlock by lifting over Joan Garcia after latching onto Nahuel Molina’s long ball over the top. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but a VAR check revealed that Baena had stayed onside.

Raphinha rounded Jan Oblak to level seven minutes later, and it looked as if Barca would complete the turnaround in the 36th minute when Pablo Barrios brought Dani Olmo.

Lewandowski stepped up but blazed his penalty high over the crossbar, preserving parity for Atleti, who were then grateful for Oblak for keeping out the Pole’s point-blank header from Lamine Yamal’s right-wing cross.

Barca went into Tuesday’s fixture a point ahead of Real Madrid in the LaLiga title race, but they would hand the initiative back to Los Blancos by dropping points against Atleti.

Madrid face Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.