FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi, center, duels against Las Palmas' Matias Aguirregaray, left, and Ximo Navarro, during a Spanish La liga soccer match at the Gran Canaria stadium in the Canary island of Las Palmas, Thursday March 1, 2018. Pic /PTI

Lionel Messi's stunning free-kick was not enough for Barcelona as a controversial penalty earned Las Palmas a 1-1 draw on Thursday and threw La Liga's title race wide open. Barcelona will host Atletico Madrid on Sunday, in a clash of first against second with extra weight, now that the Catalans' lead has been cut to just five points.