Barça could well pay the price for their lack of ruthlessness. Another game that should have been killed off by half-time was not won because Barça did not take their chances.
Barça led from the fifth minute through a Ronaldinho penalty after Deco was brought down, and in the first half had chances to finish the game off.

 First, Eto’o missed a header after a cross from Deco, then after half an hour Eto’o tried a spectacular overhead kick from a Ronaldinho cross that was superbly saved by Contreras, easily the best moment of the game. Eto’o had another chance in the 37th minute after dribbling into the area, but he might have done better to pass to Ronaldinho at the far post. Then, Iniesta could only toe poke wide after good work from Messi. Betis had their first chance in the 43rd minute when a mistake from Thuram let in Fernando but Valdes saved well.
The second half saw Barça continue to dominate but with fewer chances. An ineffective Ronaldinho was substituted after 67 minutes for Edmilson which seemed like a clear signal from Rijkaard that Barça were trying to hold onto their lead instead of looking for a second goal. With five minutes remaining Valdes was called on to make his second save of the game, unfortunately it was not to be Betis’s last chance. In the 88th minute Betis won a free kick in Barça’s half and a horrible lack of concentration from Xavi and Gio allowed Betis to profit from a quickly taken free kick, Valdes could do nothing as Sobis slipped in unmarked to equalise.
So with 4 games to go Madrid are top of La Liga for the first time this season. If Barça fail to win this league, which now seems likely, it will be a massive blow which may lead to some important changes in the squad. Many fans want to get rid of some of the higher rated players such as Deco and Ronaldinho. Personally I would prefer to sell some of the not so highly rated players like Ezquerro, Belletti, Saviola or Edmilson. But before the debate on who should come and who should go there is still a league to be won. Can Barça turn it around?
As a regular feature I will mark each player out of ten for their performance.

Valdes 5.5

Zambrotta 6
(Belletti, 46) 6
Puyol 7.5
Thuram 4.5
Gio 5.5

Iniesta 6
Xavi 5
Deco 5.5

Messi 5.5
(Saviola, 73) 5
Eto’o 6
Ronaldinho 5
(Edmilson, 67) 6