Liga Report: Ronaldo Earns Real A Point

A second-half strike from Ronaldo handed Real Madrid a 1-1 draw away to Betis in the Sunday night Liga match.

It was a desperately poor first-half from Real, with Betis by far the more impressive team.

Iker Casillas held a Juanito header early on, before Joaquin saw a shot blocked by Roberto Carlos.

The breakthrough arrived on 32 minutes when Casillas saved an effort from Fernando but Joaquin was on hand to volley the rebound home.

The final action of the half saw Benjamin blast over after some super right-wing work from the excellent Joaquin.

But credit to Real, they pulled their socks up in the second-half and looked far more like their normal selves.

However, it was Betis who should have made it 2-0 on 52 minutes as Juanito headed over a Joaquin cross when under no real pressure.

After Benjamin had shot just wide, Ronaldo scored Real's equaliser. Put through by Zidane, the Brazilian rounded the advancing Contreras with a clever step-over and shot low into the net from a tight angle.

Betis had already come close to regaining the lead in the 74th minute, before substitute Capi curled just wide.

Helguera saw a header cleared off the line by Varela at the other end, while Santi Solari spectacularly volleyed wide as Real went looking for the winner.