Barca now lie second behind their eternal rivals Real Madrid, who beat Espanyol 4-3 on Saturday.

Both teams have 66 points but the Catalan club are behind because of their inferior head-to-head record with Real.

Ronaldinho scored from the penalty spot after just five minutes to give Barca the lead but his Brazilian compatriot Rafael Sobis equalized for the visitors a few seconds before the end of regulation time.

"What made the difference was that we failed to find the net and in the end that led to the draw," reflected Barca coach Frank Rijkaard.

"Betis didn't create many opportunities so to lose a goal like that in the last minute is like getting a blow to the head," added the under-fire Dutchman.

Ronaldinho opened the scoring with a penalty, his 18th goal of the season, after Betis defender Melli Andreu had tripped Deco.

Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto'o had chances to give Barca a more convincing lead at the break but their failure to find the net led to the whistles of derision growing ever louder during the second half.

Second half substitute Sobis then added to the Barca fans' misery - they had already endured their team crashing out of the Spanish Cup with a 4-0 defeat at Getafe on Thursday - when he connected with a cross from Assuncao.

Sevilla stay in third place, two points behind the leading pair, after beating Recreativo Huelva 2-1 on Saturday.

Valencia are still not out of the title race and the 2002 and 2004 Spanish champions are four points behind Real after defeating Real Zaragoza 2-0 later on Sunday.

Italian defender Emiliano Moretti, finding the net for the first time in two and a half years, and Spanish international winger David Silva got first half goals with the latter also having a penalty saved.

Despite the defeat, Zaragoza remain fifth while Atletico Madrid are just one point and one place behind them after they inflicted a 4-1 thrashing on near-neighbours Getafe.

"Some players were not taking this game seriously. There is no way we should have lost like this," blasted Getafe coach Bernd Schuster, after his team crashed back to earth after their Spanish Cup heroics.

At the other end of the table, bottom club Gimnastic Tarragona are on the brink of being relegated after losing 3-1 to fellow strugglers Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Gimnastic can only postpone going down if they win at Betis and Athletic Bilbao drop points next weekend.

"We threw away this match through a lack of concentration. Whenever we've had a chance which could help us stay up, we've fallen prey to the tension and pressure," lamented Gimnastic coach Paco Flores.

Gaizka Garitano and Savio quickly put Sociedad 2-0 ahead.

Javier Portillo got one back for Gimnastic after 31 minutes but Ion Ansotegi as good as sentenced Gimnastic to playing in the Spanish second division next season with a goal from close range 18 minutes before the end.

Sociedad themselves are still in trouble and third from bottom but Celta Vigo drop down to the penultimate place after being defeated 2-1 by Levante.

Levante's Gustavo Reggi put the visitors ahead from the spot after 39 minutes, after Alvaro had been fouled by Celta's Gabriel Tamas, and Riga Mustapha got their second from the edge of the area just after half time.

Fernando Baiano, with his 12th goal of the season, got one back for Celta on 62 minutes.

Athletic continued their fight to preserve their historic status as one of only three teams to be ever-present in the Spanish first division - along with Barcelona and Real Madrid - by drawing 1-1 with Deportivo La Coruna.

"We lost a good chance to put some space between us and the relegation zone," reflected Athletic coach Mane Esnal.

Athletic are just one place above the relegation zone but have a four-point advantage over their fellow Basques Real Sociedad.