Villarreal boss Javier Calleja has claimed that Dani Raba was unfairly dismissed in Sunday night's La Liga clash with Barcelona.

The Yellow Submarine had been frustrating the league leaders with 11 versus 11, but the match changed on the hour when Raba picked up a straight red card for a late challenge on Sergio Busquets.

Goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi ultimately secured all the points for the Catalan giants, but Calleja has said that a similar challenge from a Barcelona player would have not produced the same outcome.

"Let me put it like this – if a Barcelona player had committed that foul, it would not have been a red card," Calleja told reporters.

"I have not seen replays of the incident but I got a good view of it from the dugout and it did not look like it was a red card from my viewpoint – it was part of the midfield battle. It is a shame as we were managing the game and doing well but the dismissal was the turning point in the match."

The win for Barcelona saw Ernesto Valverde's side move five points clear of second-placed Valencia at the top of the table, while the defeat for Villarreal kept them down in sixth position.