Royston Drenthe scored after five minutes to give Madrid the best possible start as they looked in the same rampant mood which saw them thrash Real Valladolid 7-0 last weekend.

But lowly Betis had other ideas and two goals in three minutes from Edu and Mark Gonzalez turned the game on its head, leaving Madrid to once again return to the capital pointless.

Ronaldinho's late penalty saw Barcelona snatch a precious 2-1 win at Real Zaragoza to put themselves right back in the title race.

Thierry Henry put Barcelona ahead on 34 minutes and Zaragoza striker Diego Milito missed a penalty just before the break as things looked to be going the Catalans' way.

Zaragoza came back into the game through Ricardo Oliveira after the break and dominated much of the second half, only to lose out to Ronaldinho's late spot-kick.

Elsewhere, Espanyol's dream of Champions League football now looks even more distant after their 4-2 defeat by Sevilla - their fifth loss in six league matches.

The Catalans found themselves two goals down after Luis Fabiano and Frederic Kanoute struck within 11 minutes, and were unable to get back into the game despite Luis Garcia's strike four minutes before the break.

Christian Poulsen added a third for Sevilla after Espanyol full-back Pablo Zabaleta was sent off.

And, although Ferran Corominas hit back immediately for the home side, Diego Capel struck two minutes later to ensure a third win in four games for Sevilla and another miserable evening for Espanyol.