Barcelona 1-1 Eibar: Barca held by Eibar as injured Messi watches on

December 29, 2020 Eibar's Damian Kadzior in action with FC Barcelona's Miralem Pjanic and Junior Firpo [REUTERS]

Barcelona suffered in the absence of the injured Lionel Messi as they drew 1-1 at home to struggling Eibar in La Liga on Tuesday after Martin Braithwaite missed a penalty for the Catalans.

Eibar, who went into the game sitting one place above the relegation zone, took a shock lead in the 57th minute through striker Kike Garcia before Barca substitute Ousmane Dembele levelled for 10 minutes later.

Messi had returned to Barcelona from Argentina earlier on Tuesday but watched from the stands as he is still recovering from an ankle problem and, while his side played well without him, they lacked the cutting edge he so often provides.

Braithwaite missed the target from the spot in the first half then had a goal ruled offside by VAR while the Dane also missed a chance to grab the winner from point-blank range when the ball bounced off his chest on the rebound and squirmed wide.