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Barcelona suffered without the injured Lionel Messi when they drew 1-1 at home to Eibar in La Liga on Tuesday.
Eibar, who entered the game sitting one place above the relegation zone, took the lead in the 57th minute through striker Kike García before Barça substitute Ousmane Dembélé tied 10 minutes later.
It could have been different if Martin Braithwaite had not missed a penalty in the first half.
The Dane endured a miserable night as he also had a goal disallowed offside by VAR and was denied what looked like a sure winner from point-blank range as the ball bounced off his chest on the rebound and twisted wide.
Messi had returned to Barcelona from Argentina on Tuesday, but watched him from the stands while he was still recovering from an ankle problem, and his teammates lacked the forefront.
Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho could have re-injured Ronald Koeman after leaving the field late with what appeared to be a left knee problem.
Koeman’s team falls to sixth place in the table, seven points behind leader Atlético de Madrid, who have played two fewer games.
Koeman: the league title is complicated
Ronald Koeman conceded that the title seems to be beyond Barcelona this season after they were in the hands of the humble Eibar.
The Dutchman admitted after the game that his team was not up to date.
“If I am realistic, the title is very complicated,” he said. “Nothing is impossible, but you have to recognize the distance.
“Atlético seems very good to me, very strong. They don’t concede many goals.”
‘We missed Messi’
Lionel Messi, the subject of increasing speculation about transfers as his contract progresses, watched from the bench as he healed from an ankle injury, while the absence of other key players also indicated a young Barca team.
“I don’t mean to say that we lack experience,” Koeman added.
“There is a transition in the team. There are also injuries. We played with young players, today we had five or six, but we also had experience.
“We missed Leo, who makes the difference. But the feeling remains, how do we not win? We created a lot of opportunities, we missed a penalty and we gave away a goal.
“You can’t say that Barça plays better without Messi. He’s on another level. In general, we played a good game, but individual mistakes have cost us points.”
Elsewhere in La Liga …
Seville rose to fourth place after a 2-0 win over Villarreal just below them in the rankings.
Lucas Ocampos opened the scoring from the penalty spot with just eight minutes remaining and Youssef En-Nesyri scored eight minutes after the break, when Unai Emery’s 18-game unbeaten streak finally came to an end.
Jos Morales scored twice in I raisedwin 4-3 over Real Betis.
Oscar Duarte opened the scoring for Levante in the second minute before Aissa Mandi tied 10 minutes later.
Morales then scored two goals in two minutes before Roger Martí extended the lead early in the second half.
Substitute Sergio Canales scored twice for the visitors at the end of his opener since recovering from a muscle injury that left him out for seven games, but it wasn’t enough to stop Levante.
Real Valladolid tied 1-1 in Cadiz, who have been four games without a win since their impressive win over Barcelona earlier this month.
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