Bottom club Espanyol stunned leaders Barcelona 2-1 at the Nou Camp while chasing Real Madrid ran riot with a 6-1 home win over Real Betis in the Primera Liga yesterday.

An anxious Barca slipped to only their second defeat of the campaign and saw their lead, which stood at 12 points just over a week ago, reduced to seven.

The Catalan derby swung the way of the visitors when Barca's Seydou Keita was sent off before the break and the home side's former player Ivan de la Pena took full advantage by scoring twice just after the restart.

Yaya Toure pulled one back just past the hour but it was not enough to prevent champions Real edging even closer with their ninth successive victory.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Raul helped themselves to two goals each while Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Ramos weighed in with one apiece as Real went in 6-1 up at half-time at the Bernabeu.