Ronaldo rescues point for Real in Madrid derby

Madrid, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Cristiano Ronaldo scored late in the second half on Sunday to hand Real Madrid a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon in the latest edition of the Madrid derby.

Real Madrid got off the mark almost immediately as Karim Benzema found the back of the net following a corner kick just three minutes into proceedings.

But the hosts showed some resilience and battled back with an equalizer through Koke, who fired one home from the right side of the penalty area in the 28th minute.

Atletico then snagged the lead on the stroke of halftime through a spectacular strike from distance by Gabi for a 2-1 lead at the intermission.

In the second half, Real Madrid had the better of the play and their hard work paid off in the 82nd minute as two third of the "BBC" trio for Real combined to fire home the equalizer as Gareth Bale setup Ronaldo's league-leading 23rd goal of the campaign.

The result sees Real Madrid maintain a one-point cushion atop La Liga over second-place Barcelona, while Atletico are in third place with 61 points through 26 matches.

Barcelona 4, Almeria 1

Barcelona, Spain - Barcelona pulled to within one point of the top spot in La Liga on Sunday after easing to a 4-1 victory over Almeria at the Camp Nou.

After suffering a 3-1 loss to Real Sociedad last week, the Catalans came out determined on Sunday as Alexis Sanchez and Lionel Messi scored inside the first 30 minutes for a quick 2-0 lead.

Angel Trujillo pulled one back for Almeria in the 27th minute, but Carles Puyol and Xavi added goals in the second half to ensure the defending champions claimed all three points to stay in the title race down the stretch.

Barcelona moves back to second place in La Liga on 63 points, one behind Real Madrid, while Almeria stays in 17th place, three points clear of the drop zone.

Sevilla 1, Real Sociedad 0

Seville, Spain - Kevin Gameiro scored the only goal of the match on Sunday to lift Sevilla to a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Coming off a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano last weekend, Sevilla was less than sharp on Sunday conceding 57 percent of possession and allowing 11 attempts. But the breakthrough came 13 minutes from time when Sevilla caught Sociedad on the counter-attack and Gameiro fired it home.

The result sees Sevilla rise to seventh place in La Liga on 38 points, while Sociedad stays in sixth place, five points ahead of Sevilla.

Villarreal 1, Real Betis 1

Villarreal, Spain - Ruben Castro scored five minutes from time on Sunday to rescue a point for Real Betis in a 1-1 draw with Villarreal at the Estadio El Madrigal.

Chances were at a premium in a cautious and scoreless first half, but the match exploded to life in the second 45 minutes as Bruno opened the scoring for Villarreal in the 71st minute by converting a penalty kick.

Nine minutes later, Ikechukwu Uche was shown a straight red card, reducing Villarreal to 10 men. Playing with the extra man, Betis was able to take advantage as Castro���s goal in the 85th minute forced the clubs to share the spoils.

The result see Villarreal remain in fifth place in La Liga on 44 points, while Real Betis stays at the foot of the table on 15 points.

Rayo Vallecano 1, Valencia 0

Madrid, Spain - Joaquin Larrivey's second-half tally was enough to see Rayo Vallecano claim a 1-0 victory over Valencia on Sunday at the Campo de Futbol de Vallecas.

Rayo had the better of the play for the duration of the 90 minutes, but it took until the 61st to find the only goal of the contest as Razvan Rat sent a well-placed cross into the penalty area and Larrivey nodded it home.

The result sees Rayo improve to 23 points, but they are still in the relegation zone on goal difference, while Valencia remains in ninth place with 35 points.