Barcelona completed a wretched week when they surrendered the leadership of the Primera Liga to Real Madrid after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Real Betis yesterday.

The Catalan side, who saw their double dreams go up in smoke when they were beaten 4-0 by Getafe in the King's Cup in midweek, looked to be heading for a nervous win after Ronaldinho scored from the penalty spot.

Betis dashed their hopes of returning to the top of the table, however, when Brazilian striker Rafael Sobis drilled home at the near post two minutes from time.

The result means that, with four games left, Real and Barcelona are level on 66 points but the nine-times European champions top the standings by virtue of their better head-to-head record.

It is the first time that Real have ended a round of matches at the top of the table since October 2005. They went top on Saturday coming from 3-1 down to snatch a 4-3 win at home to Espanyol thanks to a late strike from Gonzalo Higuain.

Sevilla are in third, just two points behind the leaders, after they had a 2-1 win over Recreativo Huelva on Saturday.

Fourth-placed Valencia kept their hopes of winning the Spanish title alive - and all but guaranteed themselves the fourth Champions League spot - by beating Real Zaragoza 2-0 last night and go to 62 points.

Basement side Gimnastic Tarragona were left with one foot in the second division after a 3-1 defeat at home to fellow strugglers Real Sociedad. Defeat means that the Catalans are now 10 points adrift of safety with just four games left to play.

Celta Vigo also suffered a blow to their chances of avoiding the drop when they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home to Levante in another relegation struggle.