Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said he was embarrassed by his team's woeful second half showing in Saturday's 3-2 defeat by Real Betis that could have ended their title hopes.
To rub salt into the wounds, Villarreal then moved a point ahead of Barca in second courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid and they are now Real's nearest title rivals.
Barcelona looked to be in control at 2-0 up, but Real Betis scored three times in 14 second-half minutes and the defeat leaves Barca four points behind Real Madrid, who have a game in hand, at the top of La Liga.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"We saw two different Barcelona sides and I feel embarrassed about the result," Rijkaard said. "We dominated the first half and it is difficult to comprehend how the match changed so much in the second half. We talked at the interval and said we would have to go out motivated and keep up the pressure. All we needed to do was carry on like the first half, but it didn't happen and is inexplicable."
Rijkaard had seen his team race into a two-goal lead with goals from Bojan Krkic and Samuel Eto'o inside the first 15 minutes.
Betis looked set to be buried as Barca produced a mesmerizing first half display, but after the interval Rijkaard's team fell apart.
Edu scored on 63 minutes and Barcelona started to wobble.
Victor Valdes saved a penalty from Edu in the 74th minute, after Eric Abidal brought down David Odonkor, but 60 seconds later Juanito equalized with a brilliant volley.
Edu then more than made amends with his winning goal, which rocketed past Valdes to leave Rijkaard shaking his head in despair in the dug-out.
For Betis, it was three vital points as they moved six points clear of the relegation zone.
Villarreal have collected 24 points from a possible 33 this year and are now three points behind Real after their 3-0 drubbing of fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.
A mistake by Colombian Luis Perea after 38 minutes allowed Santiago Cazorla to open the scoring and four minutes later Nihat bagged another.
"I heard Barcelona lost so we are second which is great," Nihat said. "There is a long way to go and we will just see what happens. We have Sevilla in our next match and that will be tough."
Nihat scored again for his 14th goal of the campaign, as Villarreal ensured an unhappy return for Diego Forlan who spent three years at the club before joining Atletico in the summer.
Forlan plundered 54 goals in 106 league matches, but Villarreal clearly have found another source of goals.
Atletico will now hope neighbors Real can do them a favor by beating Champions League rivals Sevilla, five points behind in sixth.
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