LFP: Almeria hold 10-man Barcelona to 2-2 draw

Kalu Uche headed in an 85th-minute equalizer on Sunday to give Almeria a 2-2 draw against 10-man FC Barcelona in the Spanish league.

The Nigeria striker got in front of defender Eric Abidal and headed in a corner that could damage Barcelona's title hopes.

Barcelona failed to take advantage of Real Madrid's 1-0 loss at Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, only moving within seven points of their arch-rivals instead of five.

Madrid lead the league with 62 points, followed by Barcelona with 55 with 10 games remaining.

Bojan Krkic gave Barcelona the lead in the 17th minute. Andres Iniesta cut into the middle and hit a low shot that was saved Diego Alves, but the goalkeeper pushed the rebound straight into the path of Krkic.

Almeria equalized from a corner kick in the 33rd when Ruben Pulido sent an angled header past Victor Valdes.

Three minutes after replacing Edmilson, Thierry Henry beat Aitor Lopez Recarte with his first touch before feeding Samuel Eto'o in the 57th for a 2-1 lead.

But Barcelona were reduced to 10 men in the 72nd when Gabriel Milito tripped Juan Manuel Ortiz for his second booking.

Uche got over Carles Puyol two minutes after his goal but headed over the bar as ninth-ranked Almeria improved to 38 points.

Villarreal continued their good form with a 2-0 win over Zaragoza. Nihat Kahveci controlled Marcos Senna's long ball with his knee in the 11th then curled a right-footed shot over goalkeeper Julio Cesar Sanchez.

Giuseppe Rossi added the second goal from the penalty spot in the 65th to keep Villarreal, who are third with 53 points, unbeaten in seven games.

Getafe and Racing Santander met just four days before the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final match, with Getafe holding a 3-1 lead. Getafe beat Santander 2-1.

Jaime Gavilan headed in the winning goal in the 77th, moments before Racing goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez was ejected for swinging at Braulio Nobrega, who was also sent off for a second yellow card.

Also on Sunday, it was: Espanyol 2, Mallorca 1; Valladolid 0, Osasuna 0.