Malaga are holding Barcelona to a goalless draw at half time of their La Liga clash.

Barcelona had a goal disallowed within the first four minutes when Luis Suarez was deemed to be climbing on Marcos Angeleri at a corner.

The Malaga defence was proving tough for Barcelona to breach in the early stages. Javier Mascherano sent a long-range effort into Idriss Kameni's arms, and Lionel Messi's shot was deflected past the left post.

© Getty Images

Mascherano came close to scoring in the 26th minute, when his head met a Messi cross, but the ball rebounded off the crossbar.

Barcelona felt they should have had a penalty awarded in the 39th minute for a Miguel Torres handball, but the referee waved the appeals away.

Just two minutes later, Barcelona had another claim for a penalty. This time, Angeleri appeared to foul Suarez but nothing was given and the teams went in level at the break.