Barcelona missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of La Liga, as they drew 0-0 away at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night.
Despite Lionel Messi returning to the starting line up, Ernesto Valverde's side were unable to find a breakthrough against an Athletic side that could have secured all three points if they had been more clinical.
Real Madrid closed the gap on Barcelona with a 3-1 derby win at Atletico Madrid, leapfrogging Diego Simeone's side into second place, and closing the gap down to six points.
Sevilla maintained their position in fourth with a late rally against Eibar, with late goals from Pablo Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder scoring in the last ten minutes to rescue a 2-2 draw.
Getafe remain in the hunt for a Europa League spot with a 3-1 win at home to Celta Vigo, however Valencia lost ground in sixth place after a 0-0 draw home to Real Sociedad.
Leganes and Espanyol furthered their own push to avoid a relegation dog fight later this season with 3-0 and 2-1 home victories over Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano respectively – with the latter remaining in the relegation zone.
Villarreal's hopes of staying up suffered another blow as they drew 0-0 away at Real Valladolid, and remain four points adrift of safety.
However bottom of the table Huesca received a boost in their quest to avoid a return to the Segunda Division, with a 2-0 win at struggling Girona – a second successive win for the Aragon side – now six points away from safety.
