Double For Eto`o As Barcelona Draw At Betis

Champions Real Madrid can trim the deficit to 10 at Sporting Gijon on Sunday.

Samuel Eto'o scored twice to help Barcelona rally from two down to draw 2-2 at Real Betis on Saturday to stretch their Primera Liga lead to 13 points.

Champions Real Madrid can trim the deficit to 10 at Sporting Gijon on Sunday after Pep Guardiola's side dropped their first points since a 1-1 home draw with Getafe in November.

Guardiola left Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry out of the starting line-up and Betis took advantage, stunning Barca with two goals in 25 minutes.

Defender Melli netted on 18 minutes when he beat Sergio Busquets to a corner and sent a header into the corner of the net past goalkeeper Victor Valdes. A defensive lapse then let Mark Gonzalez in to double the home side's lead. A Sergio Garcia cross from the right was allowed through to the Chilean forward and he volleyed low across Valdes into the bottom corner.

Barca pulled one back in first-half injury time when Andres Iniesta went to ground under a challenge from Juande. Although Ricardo Pereira blocked the penalty by Eto'o the Cameroon striker drove home the rebound.

Eto'o grabbed his second double in consecutive weeks with a smart finish through the legs of Fernando Vega with six minutes left, the 23rd goal of the season for the league's top scorer.

Osasuna extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a 0-0 draw at Deportivo Coruna but the Pamplona-based club remain 17th, one place above the relegation zone.