Madrid: A substituted Cristiano Ronaldo cut a disconsolate figure as Real Madrid conceded a late equaliser to draw 2-2 at Las Palmas.
Earlier, Barcelona shrugged off the absence of the injured Lionel Messi to move to within a point of Madrid at the top of the table as Luis Suarez and Neymar were on target in a 5-0 thrashing of Sporting Gijon.
Ronaldo was replaced moments after helping Madrid go 2-1 in front when Karim Benzema slotted home the rebound after the Portuguese’s initial effort was saved. However, he watched on as Sergio Araujo took advantage of some soft Madrid defending to level as the European champions dropped points for the second time in four days.
Stung by a poor first-half performance in a 1-1 draw with Villarreal in midweek that snapped a 16-game La Liga winning streak, Madrid pressed high from the off and had 17 shots in a wide open first 45 minutes.
Real made the breakthrough just after the half-hour mark when Javi Varas made a fine save from Nacho’s low effort, but Marco Asensio followed up to head into an empty net. The lead lasted just five minutes though as Raphael Varane’s poor defensive header fell at the feet of Tana, who slotted past the helpless Kiko Casilla.
Varas denied Ronaldo midway through the second half, but substitute Benzema was on hand to turn home the loose ball. Ronaldo was then replaced by Lucas Vazquez, but didn’t acknowledge Zidane as he sulked off the field.
The Portuguese has now completed the 90 minutes just once in Madrid’s six La Liga games so far this season. Ronaldo’s mood worsened when Araujo bundled his way past Casilla and Sergio Ramos to slot home the equaliser five minutes from time.
Earlier, Barca made a slow start at El Molinon before Suarez broke the deadlock in the 29th minute, rounding Sporting goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar to tap in the opener. Rafinha then headed in Sergi Roberto’s cross at the near post for the second three minutes later.
Sporting lost captain Alberto Lora to a second yellow card for a late challenge on Sergi Roberto in the 74th minute. In the final nine minutes, substitute Paco Alcacer hit the crossbar but Neymar pounced on the rebound to tap in, Turan headed Barca’s fourth then Neymar got his second.
Meanwhile, Sevilla missed the chance to go level with Madrid at the top as they suffered their first league defeat of the season, losing 3-1 at Athletic Bilbao. Samir Nasri’s first Sevilla goal was in vein as Mikel San Jose, Mikel Balenziaga and Aritz Aduriz’s injury time penalty lifted the Basques up to third with a fourth straight win.
Agencies
