Goals: Cazorla 39; Nihat 43', 66'

Villarreal leapfrogged Barcelona into second place in the Primera Liga by outclassing Atletico Madrid 3-0 on Saturday while the Catalans slumped to a shock 3-2 defeat at Real Betis.

Barca seemed to be cruising to an easy win over relegation-threatened Betis when Bojan Krkic and Samuel Eto’o put them 2-0 up inside 15 minutes.

But a revived Betis turned the tables with three superbly-worked goals in 13 second-half minutes.

“You almost can’t believe how the game changed and the way we reacted to it,” Barca coach Frank Rijkaard told a news conference. “I have to apologise to the fans for what happened.”

Hosts Villarreal downed fellow high-fliers Atletico thanks to two goals from Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci.

Midfielder Santiago Cazorla drilled in the first goal, Nihat added the second before the break when he poked the ball in at the far post and then clinched victory with a pin-point shot midway through the second half.

Leaders Real Madrid, who host Sevilla on Sunday, have 62 points from 29 games and Villarreal are on 59 from 30. Barca, who have won only one of their last five matches, are third on 58, eight clear of Atletico.