Barcelona was held to a 2-2 draw at promoted Almeria in the Primera Liga on Sunday as it failed to make the most of leader Real Madrid's 0-1 defeat away to Deportivo Coruna on Saturday.
Bojan Krkic and Samuel Eto'o put Barca on course to cut Real's lead to five points, but after it had Gabriel Milito sent off late on, Almeria grabbed an 85th-minute equalizer through Kalu Uche.
Real has 62 points, seven ahead of second-placed Barca on 55, while Villarreal climbed to 53 after it overcame Real Zaragoza 2-0 at home.
Building on its 2-1 win at the Nou Camp last weekend, Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci gave Villarreal an early lead and Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi made sure of the points from the penalty spot in the second half.
But much of the credit must go to its goalkeeper Diego Lopez who denied Zaragoza on numerous occasions.
Uruguay striker Diego Forlan scored two for Atletico Madrid in its 3-0 home win over Levante that put it back in fourth place on 47 points, two ahead of Sevilla and Espanyol in fifth and sixth respectively.
Getafe made it 11 games unbeaten in all competitions when it came from behind to beat its Copa del Rey semifinal opponent Racing Santander 2-1 at the Coliseum.
Goals from Nigeria striker Ikechukwu Uche and Jaime Gavilan gave Getafe the psychological edge when the sides meet again tomorrow for their semifinal, second leg at the Sardinero. Getafe holds a 3-1 lead.
Almeria made life tough for Barca crowding the midfield and breaking quickly at every opportunity, so it was against the run of play when Andres Iniesta's shot was only parried as far as Krkic to score in the 17th.
However, the set-piece specialists were soon level from a corner in the 33rd when defender Ruben Pulido was left with a free header at the near post.
Barcelona has taken one point from three games.