Barcelona was held to a 0-0 draw at Espanyol after being reduced to 10 men in a high-tempo Catalan derby Saturday to drop two valuable points in the Spanish league title race.
With 84 points, Barcelona still leads the standings, although Real Madrid can cut the difference to one point if it beats Valencia on Sunday.
Espanyol is 12th on 38 points.
“The derby isn’t an ordinary game, there’s a lot of rivalry involved,” said Espanyol defender Francisco Chica. “We wanted to work hard and that’s what we did.”
Earlier, Sevilla improved its chances of qualifying for a Champions League spot by beating nine-man Sporting Gijon 3-0.
Barcelona had difficulty settling into its passing game in a frenzied encounter at Espanyol’s Cornella-El Prat Stadium. Espanyol created the first serious chance when Pablo Osvaldo shot high following a slick move that left the Barca defense standing.
In a highly physical match, Osvaldo received a yellow card in the fifth minute for a tackle on Sergio Busquets. Luis Garcia was cautioned soon after, as Espanyol refused to give Barcelona time on the ball. Xavi Hernandez complained to referee Undiano Mallenco that Espanyol’s players were over-zealous in their marking of him.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic only recently recovered from injury, Maxwell and Pedro Rodriguez flanked Lionel Messi in attack, although they barely mustered a serious chance in the first half. A cross from Pedro that struck the post in the opening minutes was Barcelona’s best chance.
For the hosts, Jose Maria Callejon shot over and Jose Baena headed wide as Espanyol enjoyed a spell of pressure leading up to halftime.
Messi was unusually quiet until he showed his class by dribbling round two defenders and cutting inside, although Maxwell did not reach his cross.
Espanyol responded with a counterattack that saw Osvaldo’s strike stopped with a desperate lunge from Victor Valdes.
With Barcelona still unable to make the breakthrough in attack, coach Pep Guardiola introduced Thierry Henry and Seydou Keita early in the second half, replacing Yaya Toure and Gabriel Milito.
The change nearly paid off immediately, as Messi made some space on the edge of the area and curled a shot just wide.
Dani Alves was unfortunate to receive his second yellow card for a challenge on Callejon, leaving Barcelona with 10 men.
Guardiola reshuffled his attack again eight minutes from the end when he introduced Ibrahimovic for Pedro.
Messi looked like he might break the deadlock in the 85th when he dribbled past four men into the area, although Nicolas Pareja slid in to steal the ball.
Frederic Kanoute gave Sevilla the lead against Gijon in the seventh minute by tapping in the rebound after goalkeeper Juan Pablo Colinas stopped his close-range header.
Luis Fabiano then jumped above his marker in the 52nd to head in Adriano’s cross, before Juan “Cala” Torres scored the third from close range from Alvaro Negredo’s pass in the 84th.
The result lifts Sevilla into fourth place on 54 points, leapfrogging Mallorca which plays on Monday. Gijon is 14th on 37 points.
Gijon struggled to create chances early on at the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium as Sevilla swiftly took control. The hosts tightened their grip on the game after Gijon’s Mate Bilic was sent off in the 31st for receiving two yellow cards for dangerous challenges.
Fabiano sent a glancing header over the bar from Jesus Navas’ cross in the 37th. Navas set the Br azil striker up again at the start of the second half with a delicate through pass, although Fabiano was ruled offside as he slotted the ball past Colinas into the net.
Gijon’s Diego Castro replaced Miguel Angel de las Cuevas for the second half as the visitors unsuccessfully attempted to turn the flow of the game around.
Rafael Sastre sent a rare chance wide for Gijon in the 68th.
Sevilla’s dominance was underlined when Jose Angel was also sent off for two yellow cards in the 83rd.