Barcelona and Villarreal close gap on leaders Real Madrid

Barca thrashed lowly Betis 3-0, with two goals from resurgent Ronaldinho, while Villarreal won 4-3 away to fifth-placed Atletico Madrid.

 These results leave Barca and Villarreal both with 24 points from 11 games, just one point behind Real, who on Sunday crashed 2-0 away to Sevilla.

 Thierry Henry opened the scoring for Barca in the 33rd minute, after being set up by livewire Andres Iniesta.

 In the second half Ronaldinho snatched the spotlight from Henry.

 In the 52nd minute the goofy Brazilian made it 2-0 with a long-range free-kick, to the delight of the Camp Nou, where Barca have won every game so far.

 On four occasions Lionel Messi came close to adding a third goal for Barca. In injury time the Argentine time was pulled down for the umpteenth time, and Ronaldinho's free-kick went in off the wall for a 3-0 final result.

 The latest defeat leaves Betis second from bottom with just eight points from 11 games - and coach Cuper in big trouble.

 Earlier on Sunday, Villareal had come from behind to win 4-3 away to fifth-placed Atletico Madrid, with two late goals from supersub Nihat Kahveci.

 In fourth place are Valencia, on 21, thanks to Saturday's 2-0 win away to Mallorca.

 Defeat against Villarreal pulls Atletico down to fifth, on 20 points.

 In sixth place now, just one point below Atleti, are Espanyol, who battled out a 1-1 draw in Santander with an injury-time penalty converted by Spain striker Raul Tamudo.

 Zaragoza fall to seventh place, on 17 points, with a shock 2-3 defeat at home to Valladolid, for whom the ageless Victor Fernandez scored two early goals.

 Deportivo Coruna, meanwhile, won 2-0 in Murcia, while Getafe scored their first away win, 2-0 against Osasuna.

 Sunday was also a red letter day for Levante, who chalked up their first win 3-0 against Almeria, with a first-half hat-trick from Italian hitman Christian Rigano.

 Levante are still bottom, with just four points. Then come Betis on eight and Recreativo Huelva on nine.

 In Sunday's late match Huelva lost 2-0 in Bilbao, where former Spain winger Joseba Etxeberria celebrated his 400th game for the Lions with two second-half goals.

 Valladolid are now fourth from bottom on 10 points. Then come Almeria and Getafe, both on 11 points.

DPA