Barcelona have dropped points in the La Liga title race with a goalless draw at Villarreal.

The visitors went on the offensive from the first whistle as Dani Alves saw a shot tipped around the post by Diego Rodriguez.

Barca were within an inch of taking the lead in the 16th minute when Lionel Messi broke the offside trap only to see his chip bounce narrowly wide of the post.

Villarreal could have taken the lead in bizarre circumstances as Gerard Pique's header from a corner was looping in to his own net. However, Javier Mascherano was on the line to clear.

Marcos Senna had a fizzing effort pushed around the post by Victor Valdes on 35 minutes before Gonzalo Rodriguez's header from the resulting corner was ruled out for offside.

The home side were rugged in their defending after the break as Barcelona struggled to create many clear chances.

Pep Guardiola's side appealed for a penalty midway through the second half, but Cesc Fabregas looked to have dived under the challenge of the defender.

They nearly went ahead with 10 minutes to play when Fabregas's deflected shot from the edge of the area was tipped onto the crossbar by Rodriguez. Substitute Alexis Sanchez came close to converting the rebound, but the Villarreal defence hacked the ball away.

Sanchez finally found a way through the defence in the final five minutes, but Rodriguez saved with his feet to earn his side a point.

The draw means that Barcelona are now seven points behind La Liga leaders and bitter rivals Real Madrid.