Though Barca lag Real Madrid by seven points in La Liga after being stifled by Villarreal on Saturday night, the Argentine forward has pledged they will not give up the chase Lionel Messi insists Barcelona 'never surrender' despite losing ground with Villarreal draw The diminutive attacker has refused to throw in the towel despite the huge points gap between his side and Real Madrid after the 0-0 result, also criticising the referee Barcelona star Lionel Messi has insisted that his side will not give up on their challenge for La Liga. The Camp Nou outfit face an uphill task to defend their league crown after Saturday's goalless draw at Villarreal, which has left them seven points behind Real Madrid following the leaders' 3-1 defeat of Zaragoza.  "Barcelona never surrender," Messi told reporters after the match. "The second round of matches has just begun, there is a lot left. "There are many points to fight for, now we have to focus on the Copa del Rey match [against Valencia] and we will have to do things well to try to be in the final. "Today, we had chances to score, but we could not find the back of the net." Several Barca figures have complained about the standard of refereeing in the club's recent matches and Messi admitted that he was not impressed with the work of Teixeira Vitienes at El Madrigal. "I do not like to talk about referees, but sometimes they are arrogant and they threaten to show you a card at the slightest little thing," he added. Barca visit Valencia in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday, kicking off at 21.00CET.