BARCELONA moved to within four points of Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Liga on Sunday after the leader lost 3-2 at home to Valencia while the Catalans beat Valladolid 4-1 at the Nou Camp.

Bojan Krkic scored two second-half goals and set up the other two for Barcelona.

Madrid, which had been trying to maintain its seven-point lead at the top of the standings, lost at home when Javier Arizmendi scored in the 89th minute.

Arizmendi outran Fabio Cannavaro to a long ball and then got around the Madrid defender before sliding his shot past goalkeeper Iker Casillas inside the far post.

Madrid still leads the league with 62 points, followed by Barcelona with 58. Villarreal, which beat last-place Levante 2-1 on Guillermo Franco’s 83rd-minute goal, is third with 56 points.

David Villa scored two goals, one from the penalty spot, for Valencia, which also reached the Copa del Rey final by beating Barcelona.

Villa gave the visitors the lead in the 34th from a Madrid turnover, but Raul Gonzalez headed in an equalizer in the 35th.

Raul scored his 15th goal by tipping Jose Maria Gutierrez’s short pass at the penalty spot in the 56th and volleying it past Valencia goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand. Cannavaro then pushed David Silva inside the area and Villa took the penalty, catching Casillas going the other way in the 67th.

Andres Iniesta and Eto’o also scored for Barcelona, while Jonathan Sesma added a penalty for Valladolid.

With Barcelona already leading 2-1, Krkic pounced on a loose ball in the box in the 61st minute and rolled it under goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo. The 17-year-old striker tapped in Samuel Eto’o’s pass at the far post for his seventh of the season in the 84th.

(SD-Agencies)