Barcelona crash at second division Levante

Barcelona continued their poor run of form when they went down 1-0 at second division leaders Levante in a King's Cup third round first leg match on Thursday.

A ninth-minute penalty converted by former Real Madrid midfielder Alberto Rivera gave Levante the win against Frank Rijkaard's side, but with a return leg at the Nou Camp to come next week, the tie remains wide open.

In Thursday's only other match, Sevilla took a major stride towards booking their place in the quarter-finals when they came from a goal down to claim a 3-1 win at in-form Villarreal.

Sevilla fell behind early on in the game when Villarreal's Brazilian midfielder Juliano Belletti scored a brilliant solo goal, weaving his way in from the right wing before firing off an unstoppable left-foot shot high into the net.

But the visitors hit back in the second half, with striker Julio Baptista grabbing a classy double and fellow Brazilian Daniel Alves weighing in with another.

Both sides were reduced to 10 men in the final stages, Sevilla losing substitute Francisco Casquero for two quick-fire bookings and Villarreal following suit when defender Fabrizio Coloccini was red carded in the dying minutes.

Barcelona, beaten 3-0 in the league at Racing Santander last weekend, got off to a unfortunate start at Levante when defender Carles Puyol conceded a penalty after he was adjudged to have fouled striker David Aganzo as the two jostled for position before a corner.

Rivera sent keeper Victor Valdes the wrong way from the resulting spot kick.

Levante proceeded to show why they are one of the favourites to earn promotion as they held their own in midfield and threatened on the break.

Barca, who had the lion's share of the possession, were restricted to just one other clear chance in the first half, but keeper Jose Aizpurua produced a sharp save to block a Luis Garcia shot just before the break.

Barca defender Rafael Marquez hit the post with a powerful header midway through the second half and strike pair Javier Saviola and Sergio Garcia were both denied by the Levante keeper.

But the home side could have added a second in injury time when Felix Ettien raced through on goal, only to be let down by his close control as he bore down on Valdes.