Nine-man Madrid vanquish Villarreal

By Andrew Hall

A Real Madrid CF side that had reduced to nine men came from behind to defeat Villarreal CF 2-1 and reduce FC Barcelona's lead at the top of the Primera División to three points.

Duo unavailable
Madrid went into the match without Thomas Gravesen and Iván Helguera while Luís Figo started his third game in succession on the bench. Madrid knew that the three points were vital to put pressure on FC Barcelona on 72 points, who visit Málaga CF tomorrow.

Riquelme spot on
But it was Villarreal, looking to secure a qualifying berth for next season's UEFA Champions League, who made all of the early running and who looked the most likely to score. Madrid's first real chance fell to David Beckham just after the half hour, but he fired just wide. Soon after, the visitors were awarded a penalty when Francisco Pavon brought down Diego Forlán, and Juan Román Riquelme casually fired the spot-kick past Iker Casillas.

Ronaldo pounces
Madrid perked up from the start of the second half but Villarreal continued to threaten, seemingly content to try to hit the home side on the counterattack. But persistence finally paid dividends for Madrid, who levelled on 69 minutes through Ronaldo, racing in to meet Zinedine Zidane's centre and head in his 16th goal of the season.

Salgado seals win
Madrid's euphoria briefly evaporated as Walter Samuel was dismissed for his second yellow card two minutes later but the home team took the lead almost immediately when Míchel Salgado fired in what proved to be the winner from inside the area. The match ended dramatically as Zidane was ordered off and, like Samuel, will not be available for next week's trip to Real Sociedad de Fútbol.

Osasuna success
Earlier in the day, CA Osasuna secured a 1-0 win against Club Atlético de Madrid, their second win by that scoreline against the same opponents in four days having defeated the Madrid side by the same scoreline in Wednesday's Copa Del Rey semi-final first leg. Tonight's win moved Osasuna up into 13th place, 15 points above the relegation zone, while denting Atletico's chances of securing a UEFA Cup place for next season.

Atlético fail to capitalise
Osasuna got off to an excellent start when striker John Aloisi powerfully headed in Ludovic Delporte's centre after four minutes. Atlético, meanwhile, have not now scored for four games and failed to take advantage of the dismissal of Osasuna defender Carlos Cuellar in the 81st minute.