Barcelona remain seven points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid following a desperately disappointing goalless draw at home to Getafe.
A win would have seen Frank Rijkaard's side move above Villarreal into second place and close to within five points of Real, who could only draw at Real Mallorca.
But the Catalans were denied by the woodwork and a stubborn Getafe rearguard in what turned out to a frustrating evening for the home side.
Jeers rang around the Nou Camp and white handkerchiefs were waved in protest by the Catalan fans at the final whistle.
Villarreal's dreams of winning the Primera Liga title suffered a setback with a 2-0 defeat at Sevilla.
La Liga top scorer Luis Fabiano broke the deadlock in the 18th minute before Fredi Kanoute sealed the victory three minutes from time with a penalty.
To add insult to injury Villarreal defender Joan Capdevila was sent off in injury time for a second bookable offence.
Atletico Madrid consolidated their position in the final Champions League spot with a thrilling 6-3 victory against nine-man Almeria.
Goals from Antonio Lopez, Diego Forlan and Simao Sabrosa (2) put the hosts in front at the break as Felipe Melo, Juanma Ortiz and Oscar Negredo made sure Almeria kept close despite the dismissals of Ruben Pulido and Juanito.
Sergio Aguero struck twice in the second half to complete the goal rush as Javier Aguero's bounced back from defeat at Villarreal last week.
Athletic Bilbao moved up to eighth place and secured their survival with a hard-fought 1-0 win at home to Espanyol.
Javier Garmendia's first-half header proved enough to give the Basque side a fourth win in five games and put their relegation woes behind them with seven games remaining.
Espanoyl could have equalised in the 73rd minute but Raul Tamudo blazed a penalty over the bar.
Real Valladolid's battle against relegation was given a huge boost after they beat lowly Levante 3-0.
Joseba Llorente, Victor Fernandez and substitute Borja Fernandez all scored as Valladolid cruised to a victory which propels them into 15th place in the table, five points above the relegation zone.
It was rock-bottom Levante's fifth successive La Liga defeat and they need a miracle to avoid the drop as they are now 17 points adrift of safety.
Real Murcia gave their hopes of survival a shot in the arm and heaped more pressure on Valencia coach Ronald Koeman after securing a narrow 1-0 win at the Estadio Nueva Condomina.
Ivan Alonso netted the only goal of the game after 35 minutes to move Murcia onto 29 points, seven points clear of safety with seven matches remaining.
Valencia, meanwhile, just three points above the relegation zone and defeat will be another bitter pill for the Los Che faithful to swallow.
Deportivo La Coruna look to have avoided relegation after a fine 3-1 win at high-flying Racing Santander.
Xisco gave the Galician side the lead early on and Fabricio Coloccini doubled the visitors' advantage halfway through the first half.
Racing then pulled a goal back nine minutes before half-time but Xisco added a second six minutes later to seal a third win in four games for Miguel Angel Lotina's side.
Real Zaragoza's miserable season lurched to another low after Real Betis cruised to a 3-0 victory at La Romareda.
The home side started the season touted as top-four material but have underperformed to such a degree that relegation is now a distinct possibility.
Mark Gonzalez was Betis' goal hero with strikes in the ninth and 17th minutes.
Going 2-0 down so early on further damaged Zaragoza's fragile morale and it came as no surprise when Mariano Pavone added a third in the second half.
On Saturday, Real Mallorca kept the title race interesting by holding 10-man Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw.
Wesley Sneijder gave Madrid a first-half lead, but Borja Valero levelled for the hosts with 18 minutes to play.
And the league leaders were lucky to escape with a point after Sergio Ramos was given his marching orders in the 66th minute.
Florent Sinama-Pongolle's first-half strike gave Recreativo Huelva a much-needed 1-0 victory at Osasuna on Saturday night and saw the Andalusian side move out of the bottom three.
The former Liverpool striker had been suspended for this clash but Recreativo successfully appealed against the player's yellow card in the 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao last weekend.
And the decision proved crucial as the Frenchman struck the winner nine minutes before half-time.
More news from SportingLife.com
