Ronaldinho scored two set-pieces as entertaining Barcelona eased past Real Betis 3-0 on Sunday to leapfrog Villarreal into second place in the Primera Liga. The Catalans have 24 points, leading Villarreal on goal difference. They are one point behind leaders and holders Real Madrid. The under-fire Ronaldinho almost broke the deadlock after 11 minutes. He threaded a pass through to Andres Iniesta, who chested it back to the Brazilian but the latter's shot hit the side netting. Thierry Henry opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when he latched on to Iniesta's neat pass to poke the ball under Betis keeper Ricardo. Ronaldinho doubled the lead seven minutes after re-start when he curled a brilliant free-kick that sailed over the wall and went into the top corner of the net. Argentinean sensation Lionel Messi almost scored a memorable goal, closely matched to the Diego Maradona-style strike he notched against Getafe last season in the King's Cup. He collected the ball in his own half, skipped past Betis midfielder Mark Gonzalez and raced towards the opponents' area. Messi sidestepped another defender in the 18-yard box and hit a low shot that narrowly missed the target. Ronaldinho completed the rout in stoppage time when his low free-kick went through the wall and in off the post.
