Sunday 20 March 2016 21:58, UK
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique insisted he was happy with a point despite seeing his side throw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Villarreal on Sunday.
The European champions extended their lead over Atletico Madrid at the top of the table to nine points with just eight games to go after Diego Simeone's men lost 2-1 at Sporting Gijon on Saturday.
"It is a positive result for us," he said. "The best teams in the league have lost here, we've drawn. We were close to winning, but also could have lost.
"It is a positive round of fixtures for us. One less [to go] and one point closer to our objectives."
Barca were fortunate to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 39 games as they also benefited from crucial decisions from referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez.
After Ivan Rakitic had opened the scoring, Gerard Pique escaped a second yellow card for a clear handball before Neymar converted a hotly-disputed penalty.
Enrique replaced Pique with Jeremy Mathieu early in the second half to ensure the Spanish international was not suspended for El Clasico against Real Madrid after the upcoming international break on April 2.
However, Mathieu's presence aided Villarreal's revival as Cedric Bakambu beat the French international to a loose ball to halve the deficit before Mathieu turned a corner into his own net for the equaliser.
"We knew it was going to be difficult from the moment Villarreal hit the post in the first minute," added Enrique.
"We weren't complacent, it was just that the opponent has a lot of quality. They play from memory and have a lot of first-touch moves that are very difficult to stop.
"I don't think we were bad defensively because if we were they would have ran over the top of us."
