Barca forced to put party on hold
Barcelona came within two minutes of clinching the Primera Liga title on Sunday only for Villarreal to spoil the party in dramatic fashion.
Real Madrid's 3-0 defeat at Valencia on Saturday night opened the door for Pep Guardiola's side to clinch their 19th Spanish league title with three games to go.
And the Nou Camp was poised to celebrate with Barca leading 3-2 with the game deep in stoppage time.
But Joseba Llorente bundled his way through before firing a shot high past Victor Valdes' to stun the home crowd.
Llorente had earlier canceled out Seydou Keita's opener only for Samuel Eto'o to restore the hosts' lead with Dani Alves then making it 3-1.
But the match hinged on a penalty decision after 76 minutes with referee Fernando Teixeira Vitienes harshly adjudging Eric Abidal to have fouled Nihat Kahveci inside the area.
Abidal saw red for the second time in two games - he was also sent off in Barca's Champions League draw at Chelsea in midweek - and the Yellow Submarine capitalized to take the title race into another week.
Barca now lead Madrid by eight points with three rounds of the season still to go.
(Soccer365.com)
