Real drop seven back

The result puts Jose Mourinho's side on 61 points from 25 matches, with Barca on 68 after Lionel Messi netted his 26th goal of the season to set the champions on their way to a 3-0 win at Real Mallorca in the earlier kick-off.

Real's expensively assembled forward line, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema, struggled to penetrate a well-drilled home defence at a boisterous Riazor.

Ronaldo and substitute Emmanuel Adebayor hit shots against the post in the frantic latter stages and Benzema fluffed Real's best chance late on when he failed to connect with a Ronaldo centre just a couple of yards from goal.

Portuguese coach Mourinho gave a characteristically theatrical display on the touchline, stalking his technical area and berating the fourth official.

"Obviously it's a step back," Real goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas said in a television interview.

"We tried our best and created some good chances but the ball just wouldn't go in," he added.

"Now we have to think about the Malaga game (on Thursday) and how we can catch the leaders."