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MADRID : A brace from Leo Messi rescued a point Saturday for ten-man Barcelona, who could only draw 2-2 away at modest Almeria.
The dropped points gave Real Madrid the chance to go level at the top of La Liga later against Sevilla after Almeria more than held their own against the champions.
Domingo Cisma put the home side in front after he beat Carles Puyol in the air to head past keeper Victor Valdes.
Messi equalised, though, after a contentious free-kick was awarded for a foul on Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
An own-goal from Puyol and then the expulsion of Ibrahimovic for kicking out put Almeria firmly in the driving seat but Messi was Barca's saviour, scoring his second from close range mid-way through the second half.
While Barcelona are stuttering, Real have really hit form domestically, scoring eleven goals in their last two games. They are proving to be more than just the one-man show critics claimed earlier in the season and Cristiano Ronaldo has been complemented well by Gonzalo Higuain and Kaka in attack.
They have failed to show their best football against stronger sides such as Barcelona and Lyon, but coach Manuel Pellegrini is not too concerned.
"We need to win this game but not to demonstrate that we can play well against good teams. We have already beaten Atletico Madrid in their stadium which is something that Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla have all failed to do," he said.
Earlier, a fine strike from Jose Guardado helped Deportivo la Coruna come from behind to beat Tenerife 3-1 and boost their European ambitions. Deportivo had plenty of early possession but poor defending saw Juanlu Hens give Tenerife the lead.
Juan Rodriguez headed Deportivo level and while they continued to press forward it was Tenerife that went nearer to scoring again when Juan Nino saw a close-range shot saved well by keeper Daniel Aranzubia shortly before half time.
A powerful left-footed drive from Guardado found the corner after 55 minutes and from there Deportivo never looked back with Diego Colotto adding to their lead.
Valencia were well-beaten by Atletico Madrid 4-1 but they still have a three-point cushion above fourth place ahead of Sunday's match with Racing Santander.
Mallorca's remarkable season continues and they will be looking to maintain their strong home form, which has seen them lose just once all season, against Sporting Gijon.
The battle for a European place is fierce and Villarreal, under new coach Juan Carlos Garrido, got back into the frame with victory over Deportivo la Coruna last weekend.
"Garrido has tried to give the team more balance and he knows a lot about defending and how to maintain the possession. It was not normal for us to concede so many goals before. I hope we can get into the Europa League and I know the players will battle until the end," said defender Gonzalo Rodriguez.
- AFP /ls
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