Barcelona seven points behind after draw in Villarreal

By Duncan Shaw Jan 28, 2012, 23:33 GMT

Madrid - Barcelona slipped to seven points behind Spanish leaders Real Madrid on Saturday with a disappointing 0-0 draw at lowly Villarreal.

Barca were weakened by injuries and looked weary after Wednesday's exhausting cup elimination of Real.

FIFA World Player Lionel Messi missed a good early chance for Barca, then forced two sharp late saves from Villarreal keeper Diego Lopez.

The only other chance created by Barca was when Cesc Fabregas hit the crossbar 10 minutes from time.

Villarreal created several good chances of their own and should have had a penalty for a foul by Sergio Busquets on Borja Valero.

Barca right-back Dani Alves said: 'We worked hard today, but the goal just wouldn't come. This is not a good result, but we will continue fighting until the very end.'

Earlier Saturday, Real Madrid beat bottom team Zaragoza 3-1 at home, with their third straight comeback victory.

The thrashing of Zaragoza was the ideal way for Jose Mourinho's leaders to recover from Wednesday's cup elimination.

Real midfielder Esteban Granero, who made a rare start, said: 'It was an important win, though there are things we need to improve. It was our obligation to win and maintain our lead at the top. We have to win all our games and continue in this way.'

Angel Lafita gave Zaragoza a shock lead in the 11th minute by turning in a centre from veteran Carlos Aranda.

But Kaka, who is finally fitting into Mourinho's plans, calmly made it 1-1 in the 32nd minute after being played through by Ricardo Carvalho.

Mesut Oezil, another Real player in good form, set up Cristiano Ronaldo to give the whites the lead four minutes into the second half. Then Oezil made it 3-1 with his sweet left foot after being set up by Kaka.

Real eased up after the third goal, looking slightly tired after Wednesday's exertions in Barcelona.

Zaragoza are completely stranded at the bottom, six points below Sporting Gijon and seven below Granada and Villarreal.

Earlier Saturday, Espanyol maintained fifth place with a 1-0 home defeat of lowly Mallorca.

Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino said: 'Mallorca made things difficult for us. It was not an easy game at all.'

The only goal in Cornella came in the 19th minute, when Espanyol's Vladimir Weiss took advantage of a mistake by Mallorca keeper Dudu Aouate.

It turned out to be a day to forget for Aouate, who was harshly sent off four minutes into the second half for a non-existent foul on Rui Fonte.

Espanyol had few problems keeping 10-man Mallorca at bay. It was the perfect way for the Catalans to recover from Tuesday's cup meltdown at third-division side Mirandes.

Espanyol now have 31 points from 20 games, same as Levante - who are fourth on goal difference - but two more than sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao.

Bilbao won 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano thanks to an impressive hat-trick from Spain striker Fernando Llorente.

Marcelo Bielsa, coach of Bilbao, said that Llorente 'was magnificent for us today. A player capable of scoring three goals is important for any team, and he was very important for us today.'