Nine-man Real Madrid saw their lead in La Liga cut to six points on Wednesday after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal. Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 33rd goal of the season in the 62nd minute, but Marcos Senna equalised with eight minutes remaining for struggling Villarreal.
Things got worse for Real as Sergio Ramos, making his 300th appearance, and Mesut Ozil were both red-carded in the closing moments while coach Jose Mourinho and assistant Rui Faria were sent to the stands. Barcelona had defeated Granada 5-3 on Tuesday to keep their title hopes alive with superstar Lionel Messi taking his career club goals tally to a record 234. Afterwards neither Mourinho nor any of his backroom staff came out to face the press while it was reported that Ronaldo left the pitch repeatedly shouting 'we've been robbed'.
"Referees hurt us too much sometimes, but we must hold our heads high and move on. Every team would like to have a six point lead," said Real's Brazilian star Marcelo. "You saw what happened and how many of us were sent off. We must do our job. We took one point and must continue working hard.
"There's no pressure and any team would like to be where we are now. We're fine. We didn't win but we're in good spirits." Villarreal had a number of chances to take the lead, the most notable when Iker Casillas saved well on 20 minutes after a Sergio Ramos slip allowed Nilmar to bear down on goal. Sporting Gijon lost 3-2 at home to Mallorca for whom Alvaro Gimenez got the winner with 13 minutes remaining. Colombian forward Radamel Falcao grabbed two goals for Atletico Madrid to beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1. Falcao now has 19 league strikes this season.