The Catalan derby was played in pouring rain and Valverde slammed the "dangerous" pitch. "Even though it was raining, we thought that the pitch would hold, but then we saw that the grass was not going to hold up and that the pitch was becoming dangerous," the Barcelona coach said. "On our passes from defence the ball could get stuck in a puddle and that's why things got difficult.A record to be proud of! ?https://t.co/DPVdzejXNK
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 4, 2018
"We give a lot of value to this draw, because it was hard to get because of this scenario and because it's a derby and we didn't want to lose." The five-time European champions also set a new club record of 22 matches unbeaten to start a league season on Sunday, and are still in the hunt for a La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble. "We are still up there (top of the table). The conditions for them and for us were not the best, but it was an entertaining game," Barca captain Andres Iniesta told BeIn Sports.22 games into the #LaLigaSantander season... and STILL unbeaten, a club record! ? pic.twitter.com/IKcQrBgeeN
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) February 4, 2018
They were far from at their fluent best against a stubborn Espanyol whose point drags them eight clear of the relegation zone, although Philippe Coutinho came close to scoring his first goal since joining from Liverpool last month when he struck the crossbar in the first half. Faltering champions Real Madrid are 19 points adrift of arch rivals Barca in fourth, after throwing away two points in a 2-2 draw at Levante on Saturday. Atletico took advantage of Barcelona's draw to revive their slim title hopes, as Angel Correa produced a moment of magic to win the game.RECORD: Barcelona have now set a new club record for their longest ever unbeaten start to a La Liga season (22 games). Left it late. pic.twitter.com/Ml1BiDmGri
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 4, 2018
Neither side managed to create many chances in a sloppy first half, with Saul Niguez seeing a long-range effort palmed away by Valencia goalkeeper Neto, while Simone Zaza dragged a shot wide for the visitors. But Correa stunned Neto with a magnificent long-range strike when nothing appeared on in the 59th minute, with the ball flying into the top corner from 25 yards out to give the 22-year-old Argentinian his sixth league goal of the season. Valencia plugged away but never truly threatened an equaliser, with Diego Simeone's hosts doing enough to keep Barca looking over their shoulders.No team managed to win away from home in #LaLigaSantander this weekend! ✈? pic.twitter.com/Hc5ecHfxEs
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) February 4, 2018
But star forward Antoine Griezmann was whistled by the home fans late on, when he opted to run down the clock instead of pushing for a second goal. The Frenchman has had an up-and-down relationship with the Atletico supporters since saying last year he wanted to leave the club in the future. "Griezmann did what he had to do... That's normal, people want to win," coach Simeone said.WATCH: Antoine Griezmann was involved in an argument with his own fans as Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 1-0 at home https://t.co/KKhNT6D6et pic.twitter.com/K5TwmQmILx
— Sky Sports LaLiga (@SkyRevista) February 4, 2018
"The players are the ones who best interpret what they have to do on the pitch. Griezmann made only good choices tonight, even though he didn't score and couldn't finish. "Everyone is happy, all the fans are celebrating at home and everyone is happy." Earlier on Sunday, Girona moved into the top half of the table as Uruguayan international Cristhian Stuani scored a double in a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, while Getafe and Leganes played out a goalless draw.RESULTS:Getafe 0 Leganes 0Espanyol 1 (Moreno 66) Barcelona 1 (Pique 82)Girona 2 (Stuani 7-pen, 65) Athletic Bilbao 0Atletico Madrid 1 (Correa 59) Valencia 0La Liga table after Sunday's matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):Barcelona 22 18 4 0 60 11 58Atletico Madrid 22 14 7 1 33 9 49Valencia 22 12 4 6 42 26 40Real Madrid 21 11 6 4 45 21 39Villarreal 22 11 4 7 33 26 37Sevilla 22 10 3 9 28 34 33Eibar 22 9 5 8 31 34 32Celta Vigo 22 9 4 9 39 32 31Girona 22 8 7 7 31 29 31Real Betis 22 9 3 10 37 45 30Getafe 22 7 8 7 26 21 29Leganes 21 8 5 8 20 21 29Athletic Bilbao 22 6 9 7 24 25 27Real Sociedad 22 7 5 10 41 40 26Espanyol 22 6 7 9 19 29 25Alaves 22 7 1 14 19 32 22Levante 22 3 11 8 20 32 20Deportivo La Coruna 22 4 5 13 24 51 17Las Palmas 21 4 2 15 16 50 14Malaga 21 3 4 14 14 34 13.@AngelCorrea32's screamer hands Atleti all 3 points at the Wanda!#AtletiValencia 1-0 pic.twitter.com/OAU4w5snAp
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) February 4, 2018