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Atletico Madrid threw the title race wide open after they came from behind twice to beat leaders Barcelona 4-3 in a thrilling Liga match at the Vicente Calderon.

Barca were 12 points ahead of Real Madrid at one stage this season but Los Merengues cut the gap to four after winning their 10th consecutive Liga match at Espanyol the day before.

Atletico were 2-0 and 3-2 behind but two goals apiece from Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan gave them a famous and deserved win and moved them up to fifth, ahead of Valencia on goal difference.

Aguero fired wide in the first minute and three minutes later a John Heitinga goal was harshly disallowed for an offside by Maxi Rodriguez, who was not interfering with play, and in any case looked level.

Barca went ahead against the run of play when Thierry Henry curled a majestic shot into the top right from the left-hand edge of the box on 18 minutes.

Twelve minutes later Lionel Messi doubled the advantage with a mazy dribble and cool finish across Leo Franco.

But it took Atletico just one minute to reduce the arrears, Forlan smashing in a wonderful long-range strike that went over and away from Victor Valdes before dipping into the bottom-right corner.

Aguero should have levelled the scores five minutes later but Valdes made a smart save from his rising drive.

Eidur Gudjohnsen missed a gilt-edged chance for the visitors when he sprung Atletico's offside trap, but could only shank his finish wide.

Barca led 2-1 going into half-time but should have extended their lead on 54 minutes when Samuel Eto'o - who had a terrible game by his high standards - put the ball wide from inside the area after racing away from Antonio Lopez.

Atletico completed their first comeback 60 seconds later when Rafael Marquez failed to deal with a high ball and Aguero raced on to the loose ball, then skipped away from Carles Puyol and dragged a low finish across Valdes into the bottom left.

Barcelona's oft-criticised keeper was not at fault for any of the goals, and pulled off another good save when, just after the hour mark, he denied Forlan a second.

The hosts had a good penalty appeal rejected when Marquez clipped Aguero's heels in the area, while Forlan missed a brilliant chance on 72 minutes when he headed Heitinga's cross wide from point-blank range.

That miss initially looked costly as, within a minute, Pep Guardiola's side re-took the lead.

Terrible defending from Los Rojiblancos allowed Gudjohnsen a clear run at goal and he unselfishly squared it to Henry, who put his second of the night into an empty net.

Atletico pressed and pressed for an equaliser and Aguero almost got one three minutes later, but his downward header was spectacularly saved by Valdes.

The pressure paid off after the subsequent corner when substitute Florent-Sinama Pongolla tumbled in the box under a challenge from Henry. Forlan converted the penalty with aplomb to make it 3-3 with 10 minutes left, but even then it seemed impossible that the spot kick would be the last goal of the game.

With three minutes left on the clock the goal seemed to be on the cards as Aguero exploited a mix-up in the Barca defence to race clean through, but a poor touch allowed Valdes to rush out of his area to clear.

Barcelona went straight down the other end, where Eto'o had a free run at the box - but he selfishly tried to go it alone from a tight angle, cutting back to shoot instead of squaring it to the unmarked Messi or Henry.

The Cameroon striker was crowded out, Atletico countered, and Puyol's slip allowed Aguero to drill the ball across Valdes and into the bottom right for a dramatic 89th-minute winner.

The drama still was not over, however, as in injury time Leo Franco pulled off a stunning reflex stop from Henry, who slid in at the far post to finish from a yard out.

The ball came off the Argentine keeper's outstretched hand and bounced on to the post and into his arms. The luck was with Atletico, and Barca lost their second game on the trot to give holders Real Madrid hope of an unlikely Liga triumph.

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Real Betis 2-2 Villarreal

Betis came from two goals down to hold Villarreal to an entertaining 2-2 draw in Seville.

Santi Cazorla scored a brace for the visitors, while Sergio Garcia and Ricardo Oliveira were on target for Betis.

The visitors took a sixth-minute lead when the excellent Cazorla showcased his dribbling skills before hitting a left-foot shot that took a deflection off Fernando Vega and spun past Ricardo into the top left.

Betis pressed for a leveller and Oliveira hit the bar with a free-kick on 28 minutes.

But the Yellow Submarines doubled their lead nine minutes before the break when Cazorla slid a cool finish past Ricardo to cap-off a neat passage of passing play.

The Spain international almost grabbed a hat-trick two minutes later after a mazy dribble, but his dipping shot fizzed just past the post.

Oliveira was guilty of a glaring miss when he headed wide when found unmarked at the far post, but Betis did pull one back three minutes before half-time.

Vega played a long ball towards the Villarreal box and Garcia controlled it on his chest, turned and hammered a low shot into the bottom left.

The former Zaragoza forward almost levelled at the end of the half but his long-range effort zipped just over the bar to end an entertaining half of football.

The second period was similarly exhilarating.

The sides traded chances for fun, with one 60-second spell seeing Giuseppe Rossi almost catch Ricardo out with a clever free-kick that dipped under the crossbar, Nelson racing through on the counter but squaring the ball instead of shooting and then team-mate Arzu forcing a good save from Diego Lopez with Oliveira putting the rebound wide.

Betis levelled on 56 minutes when Mark Gonzalez's volley bounced into the path of Oliveira who was unmarked to tap into an empty net. Villarreal were convinced he was offside, but replays showed the Brazilian to be a yard behind the last defender at the time of the former Liverpool winger's initial shot.

Both sides pressed for a winner with Betis coming closest.

Melli had a shot blocked at the near post, Oliveira forced Lopez into a good stop with an 88th-minute free-kick and, in the final minute, the visiting keeper did very well to tackle Garcia outside the area after he was sent clean through by a long punt forward.

Villarreal held on for a point that puts them three points clear of fifth-placed Valencia, while Betis move up to 15th.

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Valencia 1-2 Valladolid

Valencia blew the chance to go fourth after a poor 2-1 home defeat to Valladolid.

Jonathan Sesma put the visitors ahead on six minutes and they doubled their advantage just after the half-hour mark when Spain defender Raul Albiol put through his own net.

Carlos Marchena pulled one back with 20 minutes remaining, but Valencia lost and slumped to sixth after Atletico's win over Barcelona.

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Malaga 0-2 Recreativo

Ten-man Malaga missed a chance to move up two places to fourth while Recre's first victory in five matches lifted them to 16th.

Defender Lolo was shown a straight red card just after the half hour when he caught Jesus Vazquez with his arm.

Javier Camunas found the bottom left corner with a drive on 55 minutes and Adrian Colunga struck 10 minutes later to seal the win.

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Numancia 0-1 Deportivo

Bottom-club Numancia's woes continued as Juan Rodriguez scored the winner with 15 minutes left.

Angel Lafita powered through the centre and released Rodriguez on the right and the midfielder sent an angled shot into the net past Juan Pablo Colinas.

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Racing Santander 1-1 Osasuna

Osasuna came back from a goal down to extend their unbeaten run to six, although they slipped back into the relegation zone thanks to Mallorca's win at Sporting Gijon.

Osasuna goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez could only deflect a powerful drive from striker Oscar Serrano into the net after 13 minutes and Uruguayan striker Walter Pandiani equalised with a powerful header in first-half added time.

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Sporting Gijon 0-1 Mallorca

Mallorca took the points thanks to Juan Arango's superb curled free-kick from long range early in the second period.

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Almeria 2-1 Getafe

Alvaro Negredo scored twice to help the home side battle back from a goal down.

Ecuador midfielder Joffre Guerron was on hand on eight minutes to tap in after the ball bounced down off the crossbar.

Negredo levelled five minutes later when he turned in a low cross from the left and grabbed the winner with 25 minutes left with a deflected shot.

Reda Maher / Eurosport