THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MADRID, Spain — FC Barcelona was held by Getafe to 0-0 to leave it trailing Spanish league leader Real Madrid by seven points in third place on Sunday.
Barcelona has only one win in its last six games, and walked off Camp Nou to whistling and jeering from disappointed supporters.
The team was without Ronaldinho, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season after tearing thigh muscles on Thursday. Lionel Messi and Deco remained sidelined through injury.
Villarreal stayed second in the standings despite losing ground with a 2-0 defeat at Sevilla which also benefited Madrid’s hopes of a second straight title.
Also, Simao Sabrosa and Sergio Aguero scored two goals each to help Atletico Madrid beat nine-man Almeria 6-3 and retain fourth place. Antonio Lopez and Diego Forlan also scored for the home team, which took a three-point lead over fifth-place Racing Santander — defeated 3-1 by visiting Deportivo La Coruna — in the race for a Champions League place next season.
With seven matches remaining, Madrid leads with 66 points, while Villarreal and Barcelona have 59. Barcelona is behind on head-to-head results. Atletico follows with 53 and Santander 50.
Also on Sunday, it was: Murcia 1, Valencia 0; Athletic Bilbao 1, Espanyol 0; Levante 0, Valladolid 3; and Zaragoza 0, Real Betis 3.
Barcelona and Getafe went into their game boosted by encouraging results in European quarter-final first legs in Germany during the week. Barcelona beat Schalke 1-0 in the Champions League while Getafe drew 1-1 at Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup.
Getafe, which has also reached the Copa del Rey final for the second straight year, almost fell behind in the 16th when Samuel Eto’o hit the post, but kept the home team at bay for the rest of the half.
Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard replaced Eto’o and defender Gabriel Milito with teenager Giovani Dos Santos and Rafael Marquez at the start of the second half.
Dos Santos also struck the post with a shot in the 54th, and Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez repeated the feat 15 minutes later.
Luis Fabiano gave Sevilla the lead in the 18th minute with his league-leading 23rd goal of the season when he received Daniel Alves’ long pass and fired home.
Substitute Frederic Kanoute sealed Sevilla’s win with a penalty three minutes from fulltime, awarded after Villarreal goalkeeper Diego Lopez upended right winger Jesus Navas.
Villarreal’s Spain left back Joan Capdevila was ejected after receiving his second yellow card in the closing moments.
The defeat at Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium ended the small-town team’s nine-game unbeaten streak.
Sevilla stayed sixth with 48 points.
Atletico left back Lopez swept home a free kick in the second minute with Forlan doubling the lead four minutes later with a penalty which brought Almeria defender Ruben Pulido’s ejection.
Almeria’s Felipe Melo reduced the deficit in the 11th, and teammate Juanma Ortiz equalized six minutes later with a long-range shot.
Simao restored Atletico’s lead in the 34th from a free kick only for striker Alvaro Negredo to draw the visitors level again in the 37th with a diving header.
Almeria defender Juanito Gutierrez received his second yellow card in the 40th, with Simao capping the eventful first half with his second goal just before halftime.
Aguero headed Atletico’s fifth in the 53rd and added a sixth goal in the 70th.
Deportivo striker Xisco Jimenez opened the scoring against Santander in the second minute, with defender Fabricio Coloccini doubling the lead in the 25th.
Santander midfielder Jorge Lopez pulled a goal back from a free kick in the 37th, and Xisco doubled his tally five minutes later.
Copa del Rey finalist Valencia, with one win in eight matches, continued its dismal league form with a loss at relegation-threatened Murcia, which scored through Ivan Alonso in the 35th.
Bilbao extended its unbeaten run to six games against Espanyol with midfielder Joseba Garmendia’s 14th-minute header.
Valladolid boosted its hopes of avoiding the drop with a comfortable win at last-place Levante thanks to a strike before halftime by Joseba Llorente and two more goals by Victor Fernandez and Borja Fernandez in the second half.
Zaragoza, which was expected to challenge for a Champions League berth this season, stayed in the relegation zone with a heavy defeat against visiting Betis.
Mark Gonzalez scored in the sixth and 17th, with Mariano Pavone netting in the 63rd.
On Saturday, Madrid drew 1-1 at Mallorca, while Recreativo Huelva beat Osasuna 1-0.