Barcelona were held to a 0-0 by Getafe FC during a rain-lashed match on Saturday that left them four points adrift of the La Liga leaders Real Madrid.
Real jetted off to the Club World Cup in Morocco after a 4-1 win at Almeria on Friday extended their Spanish record winning streak to 20 matches in all competitions. They have 39 points from 15 matches and would top the table over the two-week Christmas break for a 34th time.
Second-placed Barca, missing injured Brazil captain Neymar from their forward line, needed a win to trim the gap back to two points but struggled against some gritty Getafe defending at the Coliseum, Stuff.co.nz reported.
Neymar's partner in attack Lionel Messi was unable to convert the few chances that came his way and add to his 13 La Liga goals this season, although he came close when he curled a 52nd-minute free kick against the bar. The Argentina captain has hit the frame of the goal eight times in Spain's top flight this term, twice as many as the next most frequent, Real's Karim Benzema.
Luis Suarez had another frustrating night and has still not opened his account in La Liga in seven appearances since his ban for biting an opponent at the World Cup expired at the end of October.
Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo had little to do apart from leaping superbly to his left to palm a shot from Getafe forward Angel Lafita around the post in the 33rd minute.
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Barca playmaker Xavi said that there is a long way to go still but it's a step backwards, adding that it was the kind of game they usually cope with but if they don't break the deadlock things get tricky.
The former Spain midfielder also said that they have a lot of good goalscorers up front but added that the ball didn't want to go in against Getafe.
Real have won the La Liga title nine of the last 11 times they have led going into the New Year, the report added.