Barcelona missed the opportunity to extend their lead at the summit of La Liga after being held to a goalless draw against Athletic Bilbao.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen pulled off a string of stunning saves to keep the Basques at bay but a toothless performance at the other end of the pitch ensured a stalemate played out at San Mames.
After beating neighbours Atletico Madrid to move into second place on Saturday, Real Madrid now sit just six points behind their arch-rivals.
Barcelona would have fallen behind after just 17 minutes if it were not for the heroics of ter Stegen in goal.
Markel Susaeta’s curled effort from the edge of the box looked to be destined for the top corner only to be brilliantly palmed away by the German goalkeeper.
Lionel Messi, back in the starting XI after his recent injury, thought he had given his side the lead, beating goalkeeper Iago Herrerín with a sumptuous lob from 30 yards out after pouncing on a poor clearance.
His effort bounced off the top of the bar, however, denying him his 30th goal of the season in all competitions.
Ter Stegen was again Barcelona’s saviour in the second-half, demonstrating outstanding reflexes to keep out Inaki Williams’ blasted effort from six yards out in the final 10 minutes.
Barcelona felt they should have been awarded a penalty deep into injury time after Nelson Semedo went down inside the box but the hosts survived a VAR review to claim a hugely deserved point.
