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Espanyol’s battling
0-0 draw at home to La Liga leaders Barcelona will have made
interesting watching for Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho on Saturday.

The Italians host
the European Cup holders in a Champions League semi-final first leg on
Tuesday, volcanic ash permitting, and were able to witness a rare sight
as Barca found themselves harried, hurried and ultimately held by their
super-motivated city rivals.

The visitors lost
defender Daniel Alves to a red card after 62 minutes and Espanyol, who
hit the woodwork in the first half, were perhaps unlucky not to come
away with more from a game in which Barca were uncharacteristically
defensive in outlook.

The champions moved
on to 84 points from 33 games, but chasing Real Madrid could close to
within one point if they can beat third-placed Valencia at the Bernabeu
on Sunday.

“It’s a point worth
its weight in gold, because we played a long time with a man less,”
Barca president Joan Laporta told Spanish media.

“We are in the last stages of the league and there is more pressure because everyone has something to play for.”

Espanyol’s fans
gave Barca a typically hostile reception, with a banner in the stands
reading: “You aren’t a rival, you are the enemy.”

Roared on by their
own, Espanyol gave Barca very little space, while a succession of fouls
disrupted the rhythm of the game, players rapidly crowding round the
referee to exert maximum pressure at every stoppage.

Valdes save

Barca did not have
one decent shot on target and were lucky to go in at the break level
after a quick Espanyol counter-attack ended with Pablo Osvaldo’s effort
being pushed on to a post by Victor Valdes.

Matters got worse
for Pep Guardiola when Alves picked up his second yellow card but he
still opted for attack throwing on Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic
to join Lionel Messi in the second half.

Espanyol have not
conceded a goal at home in 2010 and looked secure at the back despite
Barca continuing to dominate proceedings, and they were a constant
worry for their neighbours on the counter.

Earlier, Frederic
Kanoute and Luis Fabiano were on target to help Sevilla beat Sporting
Gijon 3-0 at home, moving them up to fourth with 54 points.

Mali striker
Kanoute scored following a free kick in the eighth minute and
Sporting’s chances of getting back into the game were hindered when
forward Mate Bilic picked up his second yellow card in the 32nd.

Brazil striker Luis
Fabiano guided a majestic header past Juan Pablo in the 53rd, and
Sporting picked up a second red card when defender Jose Angel walked in
the 83rd.

Juan Cala wrapped
up the points with a close-range header to keep up Sevilla’s push for a
return to Champions League action next season.

In the late game,
Europa League semi-finalists Atletico Madrid, set to host Liverpool
next week, suffered their third successive defeat, going down 2-1 at
Villarreal.

Diego Godin and Giuseppe Rossi scored to put Villarreal sixth with 49 points. Sergio Aguero pulled one back for the visitors.

Reuters