However, although Valencia subsequently went top of the table they failed to take full advantage of their rivals' slip after only drawing 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao later on Sunday.

Valencia have 71 points from 34 games, with four left to play, while Real Madrid are one point behind.

Barcelona closed the gap on the leading pair and are third with 66 points after going unbeaten for 16 games.

"What you saw was a wonderful game, both teams played to the maximum," said Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard.

Xavi Hernandez got the Barca winner four minutes from time with a glorious volley from the outside of his right foot after Ronaldinho had cleverly chipped forward and caught out a sleeping Real defence.

The key to the game was arguably the sending off of Real Madrid winger Luis Figo, the former Barca player getting his marching orders after 68 minutes.

"Real Madrid had the best of the first half. We suffered," said Rijkaard.

"Either side could have won the game prior to the sending-off of Figo, when the score was 1-1. However Real were not beaten even then and could have got a second goal.

"We survived thanks to some wonderful goalkeeping by Victor Valdes," added Rijkaard.

Real's defeat could also have a profound effect on the future of coach Carlos Queiroz, whose team has in recent weeks lost the Spanish Cup final, gone out of the Champions League and now lost at home to their bitterest rivals.

Queiroz was sportingly smiling at the end of the game when he congratulated his opposite number but he is likely to face a wave of criticism as the post-mortem on this performance is conducted in both the Spanish media and the Real boardroom.

Real had the best first-half opportunities including Raul Gonzalez hitting the post with a header, but it was just an appetiser for a thrilling second half.

Santiago Solari proved his worth as the replacement for the injured Ronaldo when he opened the scoring for Real after 53 minutes.

The Argentine winger found the net with a clinical left foot shot from the edge of the area after Roberto Carlos had laid off a David Beckham corner.

However, Real's advantage only lasted four minutes.

Rijkaard sent on Luis Enrique Martinez and Patrick Kluivert to pep up the Barca attack and their tactic had immediate effect.

Giovanni van Brockhorst found and his fellow Dutch international Kluivert, who caught the Real defence square and scored with his first touch of the game.

The initiative shifted to the visitors when Figo was sent off for his second yellow card, after a two-footed lunge at Carles Puyol.

"It just goes to show that not every referee favours us. Sometimes things go our way, sometimes they don't," said Real keeper Iker Casillas, responding to accusations that the men in black are biased towards Real.

Kluivert missed a golden chance to put Barca ahead 13 minutes from the end when his header, after Ronaldinho had danced his way to the Real line to cross, skimmed over the bar.

However Ronaldinho's exquisite skill ensured that Barca eventually went home with three points when he provided the service for Xavi to find the net.

"It was a little bit strange but things go like that sometimes," added Casillas, speaking for many of the Real players who believed that Xavi was offside.

Valencia looked well on their way to opening up a three-point gap at the top when they took the lead from a Jorge Lopez penalty after 13 minutes, after Ricardo Oliveira had been brought down.

However, Athletic's Asier Del Horno equalised on the half hour and Valencia sat back in the second half, content to counter-attack.

Spanish league table after Sunday's matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):

If two teams or more have equal points, positions are decided on head-to-head results, hence Real Mallorca are above Real Zaragoza