Barcelona and Villarreal close in on Real at the top

A Thierry Henry special and two trademark free-kicks from Ronaldinho earned Barcelona a 3-0 win at home to Real Betis that put them within a point of leaders Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Liga yesterday.

Villarreal also closed in on the leaders when they came from two goals down to snatch a dramatic 4-3 win at Atletico Madrid thanks to a late double from substitute Nihat Kahveci.

Real, who lost 2-0 at Sevilla on Saturday, lead the table with 25 points from 11 games, one ahead of Barca and Villarreal and four clear of Valencia who won 2-0 away at Real Mallorca.

Barcelona had come under heavy fire after their laboured performance in a 1-1 midweek draw with Valladolid, but they looked more alert yesterday.

Henry, who last week admitted that he was struggling to adapt to Barca's style of play, hit the post early on and then put the Catalans ahead with a goal reminiscent of his Arsenal days.

Andres Iniesta hit a sharp first-time ball into the path of the Frenchman who raced past the static back four and poked a low shot under Ricardo without breaking stride.

Ronaldinho made it 2-0 when he curled a magnificent free-kick over the wall and past the helpless Ricardo eight minutes after the break and wrapped up with another which crept in at the near post in added time.

At the other end of the table, Italy striker Christian Rigano hit a hat-trick in the space of 34 first-half minutes to earn basement side Levante their first victory of the season with a 3-0 win at home to Almeria.

Results: Mallorca vs Valencia 0-2; Sevilla vs Real Madrid 2-0; A. Madrid vs Villarreal 3-4; Levante vs Almeria 3-0; Osasuna vs Getafe 0-2; R. Santander vs Espanyol 1-1; Murcia vs Deportivo 0-2; Real Zaragoza vs Valladolid 2-3; Barcelona vs Real Betis 3-0; A. Bilbao vs Rec. Huelva 2-0.

Leading standings: Real Madrid 25; Barcelona, Villarreal 24; Valencia 21; A. Madrid 20; Espanyol 19.