Real dig deep to earn draw at Espanyol
Real Madrid fought back from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw at relegation-threatened Espanyol in an absorbing Spanish first division encounter on Sunday.
Real Madrid fought back from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw at relegation-threatened Espanyol in an absorbing Spanish first division encounter on Sunday.
The home side went into the break with a 2-0 lead thanks to a superbly worked goal from former Barcelona midfielder Roger and a close-range shot from centre forward Raul Tamudo.
But Real refused to buckle and a spectacular long-distance strike from fullback Roberto Carlos and a brilliantly-executed Luis Figo free kick enabled the European champions to claim a hard-earned point.
Defending champions Valencia had substitute striker Mista to thank for a narrow 1-0 win over a defensive-minded Real Mallorca at the Mestalla to take their third win in three matches.
The former Real Madrid youth player broke the deadlock late in the second half soon after stepping on to the pitch when he clipped home after a superb-defence splitting pass from midfielder Vicente.
Unbeaten leaders Real Sociedad, who are four points clear of Real at the top of the table, play Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby in Sunday's late match.
Valencia are in third spot, a point behind Real and three clear of Deportivo Coruna who took an important 2-0 away win over Real Betis, goals coming midway through the second half courtesy of strike pairing Diego Tristan and Roy Makaay.
Barcelona continued their miserable run of form as they crashed to a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
The Catalan side, who have now lost three matches in a row, drop to 14th place in the table following Sunday's early results.
Real Madrid, anxious to restore their wounded pride following their embarrassing 4-0 midweek Cup defeat at Mallorca, dominated the opening exchanges against Espanyol in front of a record 51,000 crowd at the Montjuic Olympic stadium.
But the well-organised Espanyol defence successfully restricted Real to a succession of long range pot shots during the first half hour.
Ronaldo did manage to escape the attentions of the Catalan side's defence on 37 minutes, but Toni produced a fine reflex save to block the Brazilian striker's resulting shot.
Espanyol stunned Real four minutes later when Yugoslav striker Savo Milosevic and midfielder Roger combined brilliantly to work their way past the Real defence.
Roger turned sharply and struck home past keeper Iker Casillas after Milosevic had teased a perfect ball past Ivan Helguera and Esteban Cambiasso from the edge of the area.
Javier Clemente's side struck again before the break when Tamudo pounced from close range after Real failed to clear a Roger shot.
But Real refused to buckle and got back in the game when Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos picked up a loose ball 30 metres out and sent a scorching rocket shot into the top corner on the hour.
Clemente's side were then forced on the defensive and a quarter of an hour later Figo scored a no-less spectacular effort when he curled in a dipping free kick from the 25 metres out.
The two sides traded attacks in a breathless final quarter and Espanyol had some nervous moments at the end after substitute Alex Fernandez was sent off three minutes from time after picking up two late yellow cards.