Spanish leader Barcelona conceded a late equalizer to slip to a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo, stumbling on Saturday before its Champions League quarterfinal with Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona appeared to have secured the win when Lionel Messi added to his earlier assist to Cristian Tello by scoring in the 73rd minute to extend his record Spanish league scoring run to 19 straight games. With the goal against Celta, Messi has netted against every other team in the league during the streak.
But Barcelona's defense left midfielder Borja Oubina unmarked to head home the tying goal two minutes from time, reawakening doubts about its injury-riddled backline before Tuesday's trip to PSG for their first leg in Europe's final eight.
''What Leo is doing is an unheard of feat in the league's history and it shows the importance he has and his greatness as a player,'' said Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura. ''With time, we will give him even more credit for what he does.
''We weren't thinking about Tuesday. This league is of utmost importance for us. We just lacked a little bit of concentration at the end.''
The draw shouldn't endanger Barcelona's campaign to reclaim the league crown. The Catalan club leads Real Madrid by 14 points before the defending champions visit Real Zaragoza later with their sights likely set on Wednesday's game against Galatasaray in the Champions League.
Elsewhere, midfielder Pedro Morales scored one goal and set up two more in his first start for Malaga to give it a 3-1 win at Rayo Vallecano before the Costa del Sol side hosts Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, also on Wednesday.
After a long international break and with the PSG game looming, Roura rested several of his regular starters, while 21-year-old Martin Montoya and 22-year-old Marc Bartra were picked to patch up its depleted defense with Carles Puyol, Jordi Alba, and Adriano all out with injuries.
Messi, making his first start as Barcelona captain in league play, was forced into a playmaking role with Xavi Hernandez injured and Andres Iniesta only playing the final 25 minutes.
Barcelona dominated possession throughout, but Celta struck first after the visitors lost possession in their half, leading to midfielder Nacho Insa receiving Fabian Orellana's short pass that he poked just inside the upright in the 38th.
Messi cued up Tello to pull Barcelona level five minutes later with a lobbed pass to beat Celta's flimsy offside trap, with Tello curling the ball with a right-footed shot around the goalkeeper and off the base of the far post.
Roura sent Iniesta on and striker David Villa followed three minutes later as Barcelona sought the winner.
With Villa up front, Messi had more room to maneuver and he soon played Tello wide on the left flank before sliding forward to meet his return cross and drive it in with a low left-footed strike.
Messi has a league-leading 43 goals through 29 rounds and 56 overall this season. He has 30 goals during his unprecedented run of scoring in 19 straight rounds, shattering the previous mark of 10 straight games.
Celta, which was fighting to escape the relegation zone, made one last desperate push, and its effort paid off when Dani Alves failed to check Oubina at the far post to turn in Orellana's cross.
''In the second half we played our best football and just when we thought we had the three points, they got away,'' Tello said. ''It's a pity we gave up that goal in the final minutes.''
Eric Abidal, who was named to Barcelona's squad for the first time since receiving a liver transplant last year, never left the bench.
Barcelona head coach Tito Vilanova didn't travel with the team after returning this week from a 10-week medical stay in New York where he received treatment after the removal of a throat tumor in December. He may accompany the team on Tuesday.
