Second-placed Sevilla were held to a 1-1 draw by Barcelona on Tuesday, a result that helped Real Madrid to open a five-point lead at the top of LaLiga.
Playing under heavy rain, a much-improved Barcelona desperately tried to score a second goal after Ronald Araujo drew them level with a header in the 45th minute but they were thwarted by an equally determined Sevilla, who were reduced to 10 men after Jules Kounde was shown a straight red card in the 64th.
Sevilla went ahead after Papu Gomez latched on to a Ivan Rakitic corner kick and fired home a low strike.
Barca are seventh in standings with 28 points from 18 games, 15 points behind leaders Real Madrid.
“I honestly think that today we lost two points. We played better and deserved to win. I feel that is evident in our improvement,” Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez told reporters.
“We were unlucky. They score in a set piece play but we had many more opportunities. The result, a draw away against a great team like Sevilla, is not bad. But it is a point that is not enough for us as we are trying to move up in contention. We let this win slip away from our hands.”
Barcelona dominated the first half, had more ball control and could have scored at least twice in the first 30 minutes.
But Sevilla made the most of the single opportunity that came their way in the first half, with Gomez firing home a powerful strike.
Sevilla improved in the second half but then had to switch to damage-limitation mode after Kounde was sent off for a petulant display following a clash with Jordi Alba in the touchline. After being pushed by the Barca defender, Kounde hurled the ball straight into Alba's face.
“It was a very complicated game and the red card caught us when we were playing our best. Kounde knows that he made a mistake." Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui told reporters.
Juventus cruise past Cagliari
Juventus winger Federico Bernardeschi ended a 43-match goal drought in Serie A to cap a routine 2-0 win over struggling Cagliari on Tuesday that lifted the Turin club to fifth place.
The Italy winger drilled a shot into the far corner in the 83rd minute to celebrate his first league goal since July 26 2020, a run of 513 days.
It came after Moise Kean headed home the opener in the first half to set Juve on course for a victory that extends second-bottom Cagliari's winless league run to 11 matches.
The Old Lady climbed into fifth place on 34 points, registering their fourth clean sheet in the last five league outings in the process.
Massimiliano Allegri's side can now enjoy a two-week winter break but when they return in 2022, Juve face league clashes with Napoli, AS Roma and AC Milan in January, before facing Atalanta on Feb. 12.
“It is fun when you get to these moments in the season. We have done well in the last few games but January is an important month," Allegri told DAZN.
“I would be happy to get to the end of February with this distance from the teams at the top, because between now and then we have to play all the top teams. Then they will face each other and we will have a better fixture schedule."
Kean started in the absence of injured top scorer Paulo Dybala and provided Juve’s greatest threat in the first half, thumping a header off the post from a Juan Cuadrado cross after 10 minutes.
The 21-year-old made the breakthrough when a Bernardeschi shot was deflected into his path and he reacted quickly to head the ball back across goal and beyond goalkeeper Alessio Cragno.
Cagliari threatened after the break and saw two big chances go begging, as Dalbert skewed a finish wide from six yards before Joao Pedro’s powerful header was palmed over by Wojciech Szczesny.
The visitors were made to pay for their profligacy when Bernardeschi fired home in the 83rd minute.
Elsewhere, Genoa coach Andriy Shevchenko claimed the second league point of his tenure in his seventh game as the 18th-placed side surprisingly held Atalanta to a 0-0 draw.
The Bergamo side, who are fourth, mustered 17 shots to Genoa’s one, but could not find a way past goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu and saw their lead over Juve cut to four points.
