Villarreal holds Barcelona to 1-1 draw at Nou Camp

VILLAREAL held Barcelona to a 1-1 draw in the Spanish league on Saturday through David Fuster’s equalizer after Pedro Rodriguez had put the defending champions ahead.

Rodriguez followed up a rebound to score in the seventh minute after Thierry Henry’s first-time volley had struck the crossbar.

Fuster scored his third goal of the season by judging his run perfectly to tap in Ruben “Cani” Garcia’s looping cross at the far post in the 51st minute. Earlier, Nicola Zigic scored in injury time to give Valencia a 1-0 win against Espanyol as the league resumed after the winter break.

The Serbia striker came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute and headed in Joaquin Sanchez’s long cross from the right. Barcelona leads with 40 points. Real Madrid is next with 37 and can go level at the top if it beats Osasuna on Sunday.

Sevilla has 30 points and will move past Valencia on 32 and back to third if it beats Atletico Madrid later Saturday. Villarreal is ninth with 22 points and Espanyol is 13th with 16 points.

“We knew this was the worst team for us to play at the start of the year, we all know Barcelona has won everything … and we’re very happy with the draw,” Fuster said. “I think our goal in the second half did them a lot of damage.”

With Lionel Messi resting in the stands, Barcelona’s attack was led by Rodriguez, Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Despite the early goal, Villarreal settled into its passing game and Barcelona did not dominate possession as it usually does at its Camp Nou stadium.

Villarreal midfielder Marcos Senna was particularly effective at breaking down the hosts’ attacks.

Fuster appeared to have beaten goalkeeper Victor Valdes when he met Ruben “Cani” Garcia’s cross from the right but his header sent the ball bouncing over the crossbar.

Barcelona showed glimpses of the form that saw it win a record six titles in 2009, and Henry was involved in a number of chances.

Diego Lopez saved Henry’s close-range header at the far post in the 24th and Rodriguez nearly scored again soon after when he slid in at the far post, just missing the France striker’s low cross.

Both teams had penalty appeals waved away within seconds of each other, first Villarreal’s Nilmar, then Barcelona’s Rodriguez.

Referee Gonzalo Vazquez continued his tough policy when he booked Villarreal’s Ivan Marcano for diving in the area just before halftime, although replays showed that Daniel Alves had appeared to drag the midfielder down.

Andres Iniesta replaced Jonathan dos Santos in midfield in the 58th and nearly scored within minutes with a powerful shot that Lopez blocked.

Bojan Krkic replaced Rodriguez in the 86th. With both sides pushing hard for a goal, Giuseppe Rossi nearly snatched a win for the visitors in the 87th but Carlos Puyol cleared the striker’s shot off the line.

At its Mestalla stadium, Valencia dominated possession despite missing injured midfielders David Silva and Pablo Hernandez.

Espanyol was overpowered in midfield for much of the game and was particularly vulnerable down its left flank.

The hosts had a string of half-chances in the opening minutes. Juan Manuel Mata’s cross in the 14th minute found Miguel Brito, although the Portugal defender fluffed his shot.

Moments later, Ever Banega fed David Villa down the right and the Spain striker’s shot hit the side-netting.

However, though Valencia controlled the game for long spells, its attack lacked bite and struggled to create clear chances.

Espanyol broke in the 31st against the run of play, leading to a shot from Javier Marquez that goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez blocked.

Villa appeared certain to score early in the second half when he controlled a long pass, went past two defenders and shot, forcing Carlos Kameni to make an excellent save.

The Cameroon goalkeeper thwarted Villa again moments later, saving with his leg. However, as the clock ticked down, Valencia’s defense looked increasingly unsettled by Espanyol’s occasional counterattacks.

Facundo Roncaglia shot just wide in the 63rd and Luis Garcia also came close 10 minutes later, leaving his shot too late and allowing Sanchez to save.

Also Sunday, it’s: Sporting Gijon vs. Malaga; Getafe vs. Valladolid; Racing Santander vs. Tenerife; Almeria vs. Xerez; Zaragoza vs. Deportivo La Coruna and Mallorca vs. Athletic Bilbao.

Tags: Barcelona, La Liga 2009/10, Spanish Primera Liga, Villareal