Barcelona closed to within five points of Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish Primera Liga on Saturday when it claimed a controversial 2-1 win at Real Zaragoza and Real Madrid slumped to a 1-2 defeat at Real Betis.

Barcelona snatched only its fourth away victory of the season when substitute Ronaldinho fired home from the penalty spot seven minutes from time after Zaragoza defender Juanfran was adjudged to have handled the ball as he cleared from the area.

Barcelona improved to 51 points, while Real fell to a lightly regarded team for the second time in three weeks.

Also on Saturday, Sevilla won 4-2 at Espanyol to move up to sixth on 36 points, with Espanyol remaining fifth with 35 points.

Real started strongly against struggling Betis, midfielder Royston Drenthe putting the visitors ahead on six minutes when he angled a shot in at the far post after fellow Dutchman Arjen Robben cut the ball across the area.

But Betis turned the tables on the leader with two quickfire goals in four minutes.

Brazilian forward Edu grabbed the first when he got in between defenders Marcelo and Sergio Ramos to power in a header at the far post after a cross by Mariano Pavone.

Winger Mark Gonzalez scored a carbon copy second when he nodded in at the far post, outjumping Ramos and Marcelo after Edu had turned fullback Michel Salgado inside out and whipped the ball in from the left.

The win earned Betis its first points in three games and lifted it four clear of the drop zone.

“We stopped playing too early. The same thing happened to us against Almeria,” Real coach Bernd Schuster said. “We didn’t score the second and that helped motivate Betis.”

Barcelona took the lead against the run of play in Zaragoza when Thierry Henry steered the ball past keeper Cesar after appearing to control a through pass from Deco with his arm on 34 minutes.

Zaragoza striker Diego Milito had the chance to level before halftime when center-back Rafael Marquez conceded a penalty after bringing Ricardo Oliveira down in the area but the Argentine fired his spot kick over the bar.

Oliveira, however, equalized early in the second half.

The game looked to be heading for a draw until the referee awarded a fiercely disputed penalty for a hand ball when Juanfran cleared after the ball appeared to hit his shoulder.