Advantage Real as Barca draw

Barcelona took on Recreativo knowing that only a win would help them keep their title hopes alive and close the gap on leaders Realmadrid to 4 points. Barca were on a high as they had qualified for the Champions League semifinals. Recreativo is by no means an easy place to go as the home team has the habit of playing well against the top teams.

Barcelona welcomed back the influential Messi and they were hoping for a turn around in their La Liga fortunes. They got off to a dream start as Barca, from defending got the ball rolling forward and Eto'o headed them into lead after just 62 seconds on the clock. But the home side was level in a controversial fashion, Ruben headed the ball in which was collected by Valdes and the assistant referee adjudged that it had crossed the line. But the ball did not cross the line completely so it had to go down as a poor decision.

Eto'o then scored a scorcher in the second half to give the lead back to Barca while Messi came on as a substitute and looked lively. The hosts were fighting and they got their equaliser through Ruben who headed in his second goal of the game to earn a point. Barca once again failed to put any pressure on Realmadrid. They also would rue the fact that they couldn't win as they are chased by Villareal and may find themselves trailing the Yellow Submarines at the end of Sunday.

Click here for the goals

0-1 Eto'o

1-1 Ruben

1-2 Eto'o

2-2 Ruben