Barcelona wasted the opportunity to go top of La Liga after failing to defeat local rivals Espanyol due to a last-gasp Raul Tamudo equaliser. Lionel Messi once again proved the Barcelona talisman, despite scoring in incredibly controversial circumstances.
It was Espanyol who stole an early march and asserted their mark onto the game. Raul Tamudo scored in clinical fashion after receiving a splitting pass through the Barcelona defense, which shook the home team into action.
The equaliser came before half time. It was Zambrotta who was the architect after some terrific work down the right wing. His cross was met by what the referee deemed was Messi's head and turned into the goal, although camera replays revealed that Messi had handled the ball in almost identical circumstances to Maradona against England in the World Cup over a decade ago. Messi was in no mood for honesty, and with his side so desperately seeking victory, claimed the goal seemingly without remorse.
It was Messi once again who proved to be Barcelona's most incisive player after half time. In characteristic fashion, Messi was put through on goal in his right hand side position, and scored with a pinpoint strike from an acute angle, sending Barcelona fans hysterical.
The turning point came at the end of the game (compounded by news that Real Madrid had equalised against Zaragoza) when Raul Tamudo once again proved to be the thorn in Barcelona's side, scoring in similar fashion to his opener against a beleaguered Victor Valdes.
Barcelona are now level on points with Real Madrid but are trailing by their head-to-head record. This leaves the title in Real Madrid's hands going into the final round of La Liga next week; they host Real Mallorca while Barcelona travel to Gimnastic.
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