Barca are three points in arrears but now have two games in hand, have a superior goal difference, and travel to Getafe on Sunday.

Uruguay's international wing -back Carlos Diogo put Zaragoza ahead after 13 minutes with a header from an Andres D'Alessandro corner.

Zaragoza's Argentine striker Diego Milito then got his 12th goal of the season after 51 minutes when he stabbed the ball home after Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop only manged to parry away his first shot.

Luis Fabiano got one back for Sevilla after 70 minutes, just beating his teammate Fredi Kanoute to a loose ball, to set up a frantic last 20 minutes.

The tension continued after the whistle when Fabiano and Diogo squared up, but it was Sevilla's Brazilian striker who was shown the red card.

The victory moves Zaragoza up to fourth while Atletico Madrid slip back a place to fifth after they were held to a surprise 0-0 draw by bottom club Gimnastic Tarragona.

Atletico goalkeeper Leo Franco was arguably the hero of the night while the home side's strikers had plenty of opportunities but couldn't find the back of the net.

"It wasn't a great game for us, we should have won," said Atletico coach Javier Aguirre.

Spanish international striker Fernando Torres nearly put Atletico ahead twice in the first 10 minutes.

The visitors' Anibal Matellan then had a header skim past the crossbar midway through the first half as Gimnastic defied the pundits who expected them to be thrashed, with Juan Diaz a constant threat down the left wing.

The second half saw Atletico step up the pressure and Kun Aguero went close twice, but the hosts could not find their way through Gimnastic's normally porous defence, which kept a clean sheet for just the third time this season.

To add to Atletico's frustration, midfielder Gabi Fernandez was sent off three minutes from time after recieving his second yellow card.

Gimnastic remain bottom of the table despite the useful away point but their performance will give them some hope that they may yet avoid relegation.

Real Sociedad, who are just one place above Gimnastic, will harbour similar ambitions after their 2-1 win over Osasuna.

The San Sebastian side took the lead thanks to a Xavi Prieto penalty after 19 minutes after the midfielder himself was adjudged to have been fouled by Osasuna defender Enrique Corrales.

Osasuna immediately fought back and Raul Garcia equalised after 56 minutes but Mikel Aranburu got the winner for Sociedad barely one minute from the whistle.