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Liga leaders Barcelona came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Real Betis in an entertaining clash at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera, while Malaga held Valencia to a 1-1 draw at the Mestalla.

Mark Gonzalez and Juan Melli put the hosts ahead but Barca fought back through a brace from Samuel Eto'o and were denied victory by some inspired goalkeeping by Ricardo, although Betis too had chances to score more.

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola took the risk of leaving Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry on the bench and it appeared to backfire when Betis went 2-0 up within 25 minutes.

Defender Melli headed the hosts in front with a powerful header from a corner on 19 minutes, although he was effectively unmarked with Carlos Busquets struggling to get across to challenge him in time.

Seven minutes later former Liverpool winger Gonzalez doubled their lead when Sergio Garcia found him free at the far post, so free that he had time to let the ball bounce off his chest before he rifled a low finish into the bottom right.

Neither goal would have been prevented by Messi or Henry, but their absence was notable by the lack of a decent final ball or forward support to Eto'o.

Barca woke up after going two down but they could not match their possession with a cutting edge and almost conceded more with Achille Emana firing over from close range after good work from Ricardo Oliveira.

Andres Iniesta was the key man and he created two opportunities single-handed through mazy dribbles down the left: two of these runs forced Ricardo into action at the near post while one saw defender Lima deny Eto'o with a desperate challenge.

The final of these runs reaped dividends just before half-time, when Juande clumsily brought Iniesta down in the area. Eto'o's penalty was saved by Ricardo but the Cameroon man made no mistake with the follow-up to make it 2-1 going into the dressing rooms.

The second half was equally entertaining.

Oliveira had what would have been a brilliant breakaway goal disallowed when he strayed just offside; Barca almost equalised from the subsequent counter but Eto'o could only poke wide when he raced clean through before Betis saw a third denied by Victor Valdes after Emana raced on to Oliveira's flick-on.

Guardiola had seen enough and brought Henry and Messi into play.

Henry almost had an immediate impact but his deflected cross was saved in style by Ricardo.

Barca were more fluent and incisive going forward and Messi really should have scored when he arrived unmarked to head Eric Abidal's excellent centre wide.

Ricardo then made a superb save from Iniesta's low drive after some delightful build-up play from Barca while, from the counter that followed Victor Valdes came close to matching his opposite number when he smothered Oliveira's finish after the Brazilian was sent one-on-one by a clever pass from Garcia.

Betis keeper Ricardo was in scintillating form and bettered his previous stops in quick succession.

First he made a smart stop from Henry's low drive after Eto'o was crowded out and then, with nine minutes remaining, he pulled off a wonder save when Gerard Pique spectacularly volleyed Dani Alves's right-wing cross.

But Los Cules were not to be denied and in the end it took an 84th-minute deflection from Eto'o's low effort to wrong-foot Ricardo after Barca's lone striker did well to hold off three Betis defenders on the edge of the box.

Betis were holding on in the end but a defeat would have been harsh and they clung on to a well-earned point which puts Barca 13 clear of second-placed Real Madrid, who play on Sunday.

Valencia 1-1 Malaga

Valencia and Malaga battled out an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Mestalla that keeps both sides in the hunt for a Champions League place.

A wonderful David Villa strike opened the scoring on 53 minutes, but an own-goal by Raul Albiol after great work from Brazilian winger Eliseu gave the visitors a deserved equaliser in an end-to-end game that both sides could have won.

Valencia move third while Malaga also rise one spot to sixth, although the full Liga programme on Sunday could see the pair slip back a slot or two.

Malaga almost took a second-minute lead when Duda's superb 30-yard free-kick clattered off Cesar's upright.

Valencia winger Joaquin had a stinging long-range drive saved by Inaki Goitia and saw a penalty appeal waved away by referee Carlos Delgado Ferreiro.

Home forward Albert Luque forced a good stop from Cesar with a shot from distance and then sent a header just wide, while Nabil Baha had two bites at opening the scoring but was first denied by Cesar and, from the rebound, by Hedwiges Maduro on the line.

Villa had barely touched the ball all half but came agonisingly close to a wonder-goal when he lobbed Goitia from the edge of the box only for his delicate chip to bounce off the top of the crossbar.

Otherwise it was all Malaga. Cesar made good stops from Duda and Eliseu as the visitors - who like Valencia are fighting for a place in European competition - looked anything but the yo-yo side they have been in recent years.

It was goalless at the break but Malaga were the better side.

Valencia took the lead seven minutes into the second half though, thanks to another moment of magic from Villa.

David Silva found his Spain colleague from the edge of the box and Villa, who Los Che are desperate to hold on to despite interest from the world's richest clubs, took a touch from the left before sending an unstoppable curling shot into the far corner.

Relatively speaking it was against the run of play but Malaga's determination is testament to the effect of manager Antonio Tapia at the club and they bounced back soon afterwards.

Just before the hour mark, Eliseu chased a hopeful ball down the right.

His searing pace took him past a wooden David Albelda and afforded him space to drill a low cross that Raul Albiol put into his own net, although Salva was sliding in with him and would have finished anyway.

The sides traded chances from set-pieces, the best of which saw Goitia make a good double-save from David Silva after he failed to get a good punch on Juan Manuel Mata's free-kick.

A frantic final 10 minutes saw a Manuel Fernandes free-kick spilled by Goitia, who got to the rebound before any white shirts, while Salva had a far-post header from Duda's cross cleared off the line by Albiol.

Eliseu - a recent target for Wigan - was having a ball, his pace matched by some great delivery with one late ball in particular deserving of a finish but beyond the desperate slides of Salva and sub Pablo.

But despite pressing until the final whistle, neither side could get a winner and a draw was a fair result.

Deportivo 0-0 Osasuna

Osasuna extended their unbeaten run to four matches but the Pamplona-based club remain 17th, one point above the relegation zone with the three teams below them all playing on Sunday.

Depor, in eighth with 35 points from 23 matches, dominated the match and had a string of chances but could not find a way past goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez.

Reda Maher / Eurosport