Barcelona's Spanish defender Gerard Pique (C) vies with Espanyol's Spanish forward Gerard Moreno (L) during the Spanish league football match between RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona at the RCDE Stadium in Cornella. Pic/AFP

Gerard Pique salvaged a 1-1 draw for La Liga leaders Barcelona at city rivals Espanyol on Sunday, keeping their bid for an unbeaten campaign on track, while Atletico Madrid edged out Valencia to cut the gap at the top to nine points. Ernesto Valverde's men were in danger of falling to their first league defeat of the season when Gerard Moreno nodded the hosts ahead midway through the second half, but centre-back Pique met a Lionel Messi corner in the 82nd minute to snatch a point.