Barcelona not giving up despite Getafe tie

BEIJING, April 8 -- Barcelona is clinging on to the hope it can deprive arch-rival Real Madrid of the league title despite spurning yet another opportunity to close the gap on the leader.

The Catalans were given the chance to crank up the pressure on the champion after Bernd Schuster's side was held 1-1 at Mallorca on Saturday, but it only managed a goalless draw at home to Getafe the following day.

Getafe's well-organized defence gave Barcelona few sights of goal ?? the woodwork and Argentina goalkeeper Rberto Abbondanzieri did the rest. Samuel Eto'o struck a post in the first half and Giovani dos Santos repeated the feat at the start of the second.

Xavi hit an upright at a freekick as Barca's attacks became more desperate and Abbondanzieri saved Eidur Gudjohnsen's point-blank header.

The result prompted an angry response from the Nou Camp faithful who expressed their disapproval by waving their handkerchiefs at the end of the match while several hundred fans staged a noisy demonstration inside the stadium.

Barca has won just one of its last six league matches and remains seven points behind Real with seven games left to play.

"It seems like no one wants to win this league," Barca president Joan Laporta said after the Getafe match. "It wasn't a good night for us as we fought hard and created plenty of chances but the ball didn't want to go in.

"I still think we can win the league though. It is a very unpredictable title race and we can't throw in the towel just yet."

Like Barca, Villarreal also missed its chance to close on Real when its nine-match unbeaten run came to an end with a 0-2 defeat at Sevilla on Sunday.

Villarreal remains in second place thanks to its better head-to-head record in games against the Catalans, but in contrast to Barca it believes the title race is effectively over.

"Villarreal have never been candidates to win the title," said Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini. "We are candidates for the runners-up spot but Real are seven points ahead of us which is a huge difference.

"We have to focus on the battle for second place because that is a huge objective for a club like Villarreal."

Atletico Madrid beat nine-man Almeria 6-3 to strengthen its grip on fourth place with 53 points.

Also, Racing Santander stumbled to a 1-3 home defeat to Deportivo de La Coruna and is fifth on 50 points, two ahead of Sevilla in sixth.

At the foot of the table, Real Zaragoza's 0-3 home defeat to Real Betis left it deep in relegation trouble in 18th with 33 points, three adrift of 17th-placed Recreativo Huelva.

Real Murcia, which beat Copa del Rey finalist Valencia 1-0, is 19th with 29 and bottom club Levante, which lost 0-3 to Valladolid, has 19.

(Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)