Ronaldinho's double lifts Barcelona

Oct 29, 2006, 7:45 GMT

Barcelona, Spain - Ronaldinho took steps toward breaking out of his slump by leading first-place Barcelona to a 3-1 win over Recreativo Huelva in Spanish Primera Liga action Saturday.

Ronaldinho hit the first two goals of the game - the first being a penalty shot in the opening half and the second being a header in the 57th minute - to put his squad alone in first place in the standings.

Barcelona entered the day tied with Valencia, but a surprising loss by the squad gave Barcelona the top spot uncontested.

The first goal occurred when former Barcelona defender Mario brought down Gudjohnsen in the box after a Giuly cross from the right.

Ronaldinho stepped up to blast the ball into Bertrand Laquait's top right-hand corner for the 1-0 lead, as the home crowd erupted.

Barcelona drove the nail in the Huelva coffin in the 57th minute when Ronaldinho headed home an excellent out-swinging cross from Sylvinho at the far post.

The game is a great confidence booster for Ronaldinho and Barcelona headed into Tuesday night's big Champions League contest against Chelsea.

After Valencia's loss at Santander on Saturday the team fell from being a co -leader to third in the standings.

A Pedro Munitis header 11 minutes into the second half was enough for the upset as Valencia lost just its second league match of the season.

The comeback attempt became even harder after Mario Regueiro, an early substitute for the injured Jaime Gavilan, picked up two yellow cards.

Real Madrid moved into second place in the standings with a 3-1 win over Gimnastic de Tarragona on Saturday. Second-half goals by Roberto Carlos (44th minute), Ivan Helguera (50th minute) and Robinho (85th minute) led the way for the visitors.

Sunday's fixtures include Celta de Vigo hosting Sevilla, Getafe hosting Deportivo La Coruna, Levante hosting Espanyol, Real Betis hosting Mallorca, Real Sociedad hosting Villarreal, Osasuna hosting Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid hosting Zaragoza.

© 2006 The Sports Network