Lowly Racing Santander gave Barcelona a fright last night before the Primera Liga leaders came back to draw 2-2 and restore their 11-point lead at the top of the table.
Henrik Larsson put Barca in front after 18 minutes but Racing struck back almost immediately with two goals in four minutes, from Antonito and Oscar Serrano, to turn the game on its head.
Samuel Eto'o levelled the scores after 33 minutes and although Barca dominated thereafter they appeared content to secure the point.
The Champions League semi-finalists have 70 points with six games remaining.
Valencia, who beat Celta Vigo 1-0 on Saturday, are level on 59 points with Real Madrid, but second on head-to-head results.
Real slipped to third after being held 1-1 at home by relegation-threatened Real Sociedad on Saturday, while Osasuna's 2-1 win at Alaves earlier yesterday put them a point back in fourth place.
Two goals in three minutes saw Champions League semi-finalists Villarreal draw 1-1 at home with Deportivo Coruna.
In Italy Juventus struggled to shake off their Champions League hangover as they drew 1-1 with Fiorentina last night.
Knocked out of Europe's top club competition by Arsenal in midweek, the Serie A leaders fell behind early in the second half to a goal by the division's leading scorer, Luca Toni, before Alessandro Del Piero equalised to salvage a point.
The result gave them 80 points from 33 matches, seven ahead of second-placed AC Milan, who came from behind to beat Chievo Verona 4-1 in an earlier game.
Inter Milan lie third on 71 points after winning 3-1 at Ascoli on Saturday. AS Roma (63 points) climbed one point above Fiorentina into the fourth and final Champions League berth with a 3-1 win over Lecce.
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