Barcelona remain seven points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid following a desperately disappointing goalless draw at home to Getafe on Sunday.

A win would have seen Frank Rijkaard's side move above Villarreal into second place and close to within five points of Real, who could only draw at Real Mallorca on Saturday.

But the Catalans were denied by the woodwork and a stubborn Getafe rearguard in what turned out to a frustrating evening for the home side.

Jeers rang around the Nou Camp and white handkerchiefs were waved in protest by the Catalan fans at the final whistle.

Barcelona dominated the early exchanges and Bojan Krkic threatened with a low drive after just four minutes after Samuel Eto'o had lost the ball in the Getafe area, but Esteban Granero blocked the youngster's shot.

But Getafe, fresh from Thursday's excellent 1-1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Cup quarter-final at Bayern Munich, should have taken the lead after six minutes.

Granero stole possession from Gianluca Zambrotta in midfield and released Manu Del Moral in the area, but the striker's shot was poor and Victor Valdes pushed the ball wide for a corner.

Aside from that blip, Barcelona continued to dominate proceedings and came even closer to taking the lead on 14 minutes, when Gabi Milito saw his close-range shot pushed onto the crossbar by Getafe goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri.

A minute later, the Catalans were once again denied by the woodwork, Eto'o unlucky on this occasion after the African combined neatly with Thierry Henry and Xavi.

Rijkaard's side should have been ahead by now, but were unable to maintain their early intensity and Getafe continued to look threatening on the counter-attack.

Valdes got down well to save Granero's powerful drive on the half-hour mark as the visitors sought to take a shock lead and Del Moral also fired over just before the break.

The home side were jeered off the pitch at the interval by their disillusioned fans and Rijkaard opted to make a double change at the break.

Mexican duo Rafael Marquez and Giovani Dos Santos came on for Milito and Eto'o as the Dutch coach sought to liven up his languid side.

Giovani looked bright and almost made an immediate impact, when he advanced into the Getafe area and drilled a low shot against the post after 53 minutes.

Four minutes later, Barcelona thought they should have had a penalty when Zambrotta went down in the area following a challenge by Lucas Licht.

However, the referee ignored the appeals of the home fans and players alike, instead deciding to book the Italian for diving.

The game was following a similar pattern to the first half and Getafe still looked threatening on the break.

But Barcelona continued to dominate and Xavi hit the post with a close-range effort after substitute Eidur Gudjohnsen had headed on Sylvinho's free-kick on 68 minutes.

The Catalans had now been denied three times by the post and luck seemed to be against them as time ticked away.

Gudjohnsen saw his far-post header brilliantly saved by Abbondanzieri with 15 minutes remaining and Marquez headed over the bar from a corner in the final stages.

Getafe held on for an unexpected point which sees them move up to 12th.