Barcelona: Javi Varas was the star of the show as Barcelona and Sevilla played out a goalless draw at Camp Nou in La Liga on Saturday.
The defending champions looked set to snatch a victory in injury time when Andres Iniesta was fouled in the area, but Sevilla goalkeeper Varas stopped Lionel Messi's penalty to cap his excellent performance of nine saves.
"All penalties are complicated, and both luck and all the work you have put in play a part," Varas said. "But I have to give credit to my teammates. The merit is of all the team."
Barcelona controlled more than 70 percent of possession, but could not break through the undefeated Sevilla's disciplined defence.
"We did everything and more to win, shooting 22 times between the posts, but we couldn't get that first goal," said Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, whose team had outscored their league opponents 21-0 in four previous wins.
"Varas played a great game," the former midfielder said. "He made two or three saves with his leg. We have to congratulate him."
The hosts dominated the play in the first half and managed to create a few decent chances, but Varas was the outstanding performer, pulling off numerous saves.
Sevilla gave Barcelona cause for concern in the 15th minute when Emiliano Armenteros attempted an opportunistic half volley from just inside the Barca box, which had Victor Valdes scrambling across his goal, but the ball went just by the post.
They came close again five minutes later when Dani Alves gave the ball away on the edge of the Barcelona box to Jesus Navas, who found room to strike a snap shot at the top left corner, but Valdes was on hand to tip the ball around the post.
The best chance of the first half came five minutes before the break and involved some top-class link-up play between Adriano and Iniesta down the left-hand side. The two exchanged a neat one-two before Iniesta slid the ball into the box for David Villa, who blasted at goal first time with his left foot but Javi Varas remained big and saved with his legs.
The second half continued in this vein, with Varas impressing in the Sevilla goal with a few very good saves.
Barcelona slowly established their control-based passing game, with Dani Alves' overlapping runs providing danger from the right flank as Messi and Iniesta tried to penetrate through the center of the defence.
They came extremely close to taking the lead in the 72nd minute when Messi split the Sevilla defence with a sensational pass to the back post for Iniesta who lifted the ball over Varas, only to hit the top of the bar.
Marcelinho Garcia's side had a great chance to take the lead two minutes later when Jesus Navas picked out a pass to Ivan Rakitic, who had a free run at the Barcelona goal, but the Croatian's first touch let him down and allowed the Barca defenders to smuggle the ball to safety.
There was drama in injury time as Federico Fazio brought down Andres Iniesta in the penalty area and Barcelona were awarded a penalty kick. The decision caused uproar among the Sevilla players, and Freddy Kanoute saw red after grabbing the face of Cesc Fabregas.
However, Sevilla hero Varas was on hand again as he saved Messi's penalty by diving to his left side and turned it round the post.
"We knew that getting a good result here was very complicated. Other teams have left here with a rout," said Varas, who has kept a clean sheet five times this season for the Sevilla.
Fernando Navarro received a second booking in extended injury time after going in late on Pedro.
This result sees Barcelona in second place, one point behind rivals Real Madrid, who earlier took an overnight lead in the Spanish league after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in 15 first-half minutes of a 4-0 rout against Malaga. Sevilla are fourth on 16 points.
Elsewhere, Sporting Gijon beat Granada 2-0 for their first win of the season, while Sergio Garcia's second-half goal dropped the winless Racing Santander into last place as Espanyol won 1-0 for their second straight away victory.
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