Aleksandr Kerzkhakov also found the back of the net for Sevilla, which leapfrogged its opponents for the top spot on the table. With the victory, Sevilla now holds a one-point edge over Barcelona through 25 games.

Ronaldinho opened up the scoring in the 14th minute, but Barca failed to score the rest of the match. Ronaldinho had an opportunity for a second goal, but was denied by Andres Palop on a penalty shot in the 29th minute.

Kerzkhakov made it a 1-1 affair in the 39th minute courtesy of a hard shot down low.

Alves' tally came when he was able to break free and deflect a free kick past Victor Valdes.

Barcelona did have star striker Samuel Eto'o for the game, but he picked up a yellow card in the second half. He had a spectacular game last weekend, scoring a goal and helping set up two others, in his first game back since a knee in jury last year.

Barcelona now must bounce back quickly because it has its Champions League contest against Liverpool on Tuesday.

The other game on Saturday had Celta Vigo falling to Valencia, 1-0.

In Sunday's fixtures, Real Madrid hosts Getafe, Atletico travels to Recreativo, Real Zaragoza hosts Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao hosts last- placed Gimnastic, Deportivo hosts Real Betis, Espanyol hosts Villarreal, Mallorca hosts Levante and Osasuna travels to Racing.