Sevilla knock Barça off summit

Sevilla FC have leapfrogged FC Barcelona at the top of the Primera División after coming from behind to win 2-1 in a highly competitive encounter in which three players were sent off and Ronaldinho missed a penalty.

New leaders
Goals from Aleksandr Kerzkhakov and Daniel Alves wiped out Ronaldinho's early header to move Sevilla on to 50 points from 25 games, one more than Barça, and raise hope of a first championship since 1946. Valencia CF are within three points of second spot after Fernando Morientes's solitary strike saw off RC Celta de Vigo at Mestalla in Saturday's early game. It was at a packed Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium in Seville tonight, though, where the real drama came.

Missed penalty
Sevilla fell behind in the 13th minute and things got worse for the home side when last man Aitor Ocio was sent off for fouling Ronaldinho as he raced through on goal in the 27th minute. The Brazilian picked himself up to take the penalty but Andrés Palop saved. Soon after, Sevilla lost Renato to a foot injury but in the 38th minute, Kerzhakov changed the mood with a low shot to equalise. The home crowd then erupted in the 58th minute when Daniel Alves's deflected free-kick beat Víctor Valdés.

Two off
Barcelona's misery deepened when Ludovic Giuly (61) and Gianluca Zambrotta (78) were dismissed, and the late arrival of Samuel Eto'o and Javier Saviola, to a standing ovation at his former club, did nothing to change the result. Indeed, Frédéric Kanouté and Daniel Alves each had two late opportunites to add a third, which would have meant Sevilla had matched Barcelona's result at Camp Nou on 15 October. In failing to do so, the champions will finish higher if the teams end the season on the same points.