Villarreal picked up a point from a goalless draw away to Real Valladolid but will rue missed chances to claim all three as their winless run stretched to 10 games.
It was a night of near misses for both teams as shot went narrowly off-target at either end, but a draw leaves Villarreal still four points from safety having played a game more than their rivals.
Valladolid were the first to go close when Nacho Martinez shot from the edge of the area but saw his shot cleared off the line by Daniele Bonera with goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo beaten.
Villarreal responded and created a string of chances of their own, the best five minutes before the break when a sweeping move ended with Alfonso Pedraza seeing his shot pushed into the side-netting by Jordi Masip.
The second half was a tale of missed chances at both ends, leaving both sides with a point which does little to help them.
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