At San Mames, Bojan Krkic was sent clear by Deco to open the score in the 35th minute of the game.

But the home side managed to fight back and scored a late equalizer by Fernando Llorento, 79, who fooled his marker Lilian Thuram.

Argentinean prodigy Lionnel Messi was back to full fitness but couldn't help his teammates grab the full points of the game.

Barcelona are second with 44 points, nine behind leaders Real Madrid, who sealed a thrilling victory at Bernabeu.

Thrilling Victory

The league holders took a 9th minute lead through Robinho, but Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi equalized seven minutes later.

The on-fire Robinho restored Real's lead with a 53rd minute strike, but the thriller continued as Joan Capdevilla leveled the scoring on 76 minutes.

However, Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder won the game for the home side with a left-footed finish after less than a minute later.

Real have 53 points from 21 games at the summit, while battling Villarreal are third with 38 points.