Real Madrid missed the chance to move four points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga after being held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal on Sunday. Cristiano Ronaldo's early second-half penalty looked to have Madrid on course for a fourth consecutive win, but Gerard Moreno's thunderous equaliser 26 minutes from time earned the visitors a deserved point.
Champions Atletico Madrid failed to gain any ground on the leaders as they battled to a 0-0 draw at Sevilla. Fourth-placed Valencia are now just a point adrift of Atletico after they were comfortable 2-0 winners over David Moyes's Real Sociedad thanks to a double from Pablo Piatti. "The two halves were completely different," said Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti
"In the first-half the tempo was slow and we had to look for a lot of crosses because we didn't move the ball quickly. "In the second the tempo was different. We had a lot of chances, but we weren't efficient." Villarreal were without a host of first team regulars as coach Marcelino continues to prioritise progress in the Copa del Rey and Europa League.
However, the visitors started the brighter and should have been in front on 12 minutes when Iker Casillas made a fine save from Moreno and then Dani Carvajal headed Moi Gomez's follow-up effort off the line. The European champions began to bombard the Villarreal defence with crosses as the half developed and Gareth Bale came close to an opener when his header from Toni Kroos's corner flashed wide. From the German World Cup winner's next set-piece delivery, Raphael Varane went even closer with a header that also just missed the target.
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