Valencia paid the price for some poor finishing against Mallorca as they were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw after conceding a late penalty.
Unai Emery's side dominated from the outset but were wasteful in front of goal, with David Villa particularly off form.
Villa did put Valencia ahead early in the second half, but stopped his side from scoring a further two and also missed a good chance early on.
Mallorca were barely in it, but the visitors won a penalty with six minutes left and Borja Valero converted to give them an unlikely point.
Valencia came into the game in fourth place, just three points behind league leaders Barcelona.
And with Barca hosting Real Madrid in El Clasico tomorrow evening, it represented a great opportunity for Emery's side to close in on the top two.
The home side should have taken the lead after just four minutes but Villa side-footed wide from close range when he should have scored.
Five minutes later Villa did have the ball in the net, but was frustrated again as his effort was ruled out for offside.
It was an instinctive touch from the striker to help David Silva's shot across the line, but the ball was going in and would have counted if not for Villa's touch.
Two minutes later Villa looked to make amends as he put Silva through, but the Spain winger, one-on-one with Mallorca goalkeeper Dudu Aouate, hesitated far too long and was eventually dispossessed by Josemi.
Mathieu then blasted a left-footed drive over the bar as Valencia continued to pile on the pressure.
Silva was forced to depart with an injury short of the half hour and that was a blow for the home side after the Spain winger had looked lively.
He was replaced by another Spain winger, Joaquin, and the former Betis man had an almost immediate impact as he tested Aouate with a fine shot five minutes before half-time.
At the other end, Victor then fired over the bar in a rare Mallorca attack.
After the break, Villa atoned for his earlier mistakes as he gave Valencia the lead.
In truth, it was almost impossible to miss this time and the striker made no mistake as he poked home with his left foot from close range after Ever Banega had flicked on a corner.
It was not Villa's night, though. He then stopped his side from scoring again as he inadvertently got in the way of Mathieu's goalbound header.
Villa then saw a fierce effort saved by Aouate and Pablo Hernandez was also denied by the Israel goalkeeper later on.
Joaquin also crashed a left-footed drive against the post as Valencia remained rampant.
But they still only led by a single goal and paid the price for their profligacy with six minutes left, when Bruno fouled Gonzalo Castro and Borja Valero beat Cesar from the resulting spot-kick.
The islanders held on to frustrate Valencia and scrape a fortuitous point, only their third away from home.
