Barcelona went into Saturday’s match after wins over Levante and Real Sociedad that had propelled them into fifth place and suggested the title might not be beyond them this season.
Yet the draw to Valencia means Barca drop points for the seventh time this season and are now eight points behind leaders Atletico Madrid who also have a game in hand on Ronald Koeman’s men.
It’s a case of two steps forward, one step back for Barca with the same old problems continuing to crop up, but at the moment the team don’t seem to be getting very far under the new coach.