Veteran striker Raul Gonzalez scored twice but Real Madrid still lost ground in the Spanish title race after they were held at home 2-2 by Espanyol on Sunday.

A below-par Madrid went behind from the penalty spot after 21 minutes with Raul Tamudo firing home after he was felled by Gabriel Heinze.

Raul, returning to the side after being rested for the Champions League clash against Zenit St. Petersburg, equalized with a header four minutes later.

On the half-hour, Luis Garcia restored Espanyol's advantage, scoring from close range after good build up play from Roman Martinez, Tamudo and Ivan de la Pena.

But then Raul was on hand to bring Real back level at the end of the first half.

There were chances for both sides after the break notably for Luis Garcia and Nene for Espanyol, while Real's Ruud van Nistelrooy also had a shot saved by keeper Carlos Kameni.

The result brought Real's six-match winning streak to an end and left them in fifth place, three points behind leaders Valencia who beat Valladolid 1-0.

Real coach Bernd Schuster felt his team missed Dutch star Arjen Robben, who has been struggling with injury and was not brought into the action until late into the game.

"In the first half with Van Nistelrooy, Raul and (Gonzalo) Higuain it was not easy," said Schuster.

"Robben's state meant that I didn't start with him and we lacked depth. I tried options with (Ruben) de la Red and (Rafael) van der Vaart and I wanted to have the options of Robben and (Wesley) Sneijder for the second half.

"After the break we deserved to win, we were superior and we had chances but Kameni did very well and our finishing wasn't good."

Espanyol coach Bartolome Marquez was satisfied with the point.

"We have been brave by attacking as always. Against Barcelona, we had four strikers. I have a philosophy and I am ready to die by it."

A Manuel Fernandes strike in the 54th minute proved enough for a lethargic Valencia to reclaim top spot with 16 points.

"It was a very even game but I think that the result was fair. There were openings for both sides but not very clear chances," said Valencia coach Unai Emery.

Villarreal also have 16 points after a 2-1 win on Saturday against rock-bottom Real Betis but are in second spot on goal difference.

Earlier Sunday, Sevilla enjoyed a 4-0 mauling of Athletic Bilbao to move into third place on 14 points.

The home side went ahead after 26 minutes through Frederic Kanoute and then five minutes before the interval Renato Santos doubled their advantage.

The best goal of the game came after 75 minutes in a well-worked counter-attack with Adriano Correia providing the finishing touch. Substitute Ernesto Chevanton wrapped up the game with ten minutes to go.

"It's going well but it's still early days. We maintained a good rhythm and that is what we need to continue doing but the season will be long and hard," said Manolo Jimenez, who is the first Sevilla coach to string together eleven matches without defeat.

Barcelona are in fourth spot on 13 points after their 6-1 thrashing of Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

Sporting Gijon moved off the bottom with a surprise 2-0 victory over Real Mallorca with goals from Carmelo Gonzalez and Roberto Canella.

Pierre Webo added to Mallorca's woes when he missed a penalty.

Malaga made easy work of struggling Recreativo Huelva, beating their Andalusian neighbours 4-0.

Eliseu Pereira dos Santos scored the first of his brace in the opening minute and then goals either side of the interval from Nabil Baha and Duda Valente firmly placed Malaga in the driving seat.

They finished off the scoring just after the hour mark with Eliseu's second.

Racing Santander scored in the second minute of injury time at Osasuna to claim an important 1-0 victory with Juan Varela grabbing the winner.

Almeria came from two goals down to claim a point in a 2-2 draw away to Getafe.

(AFP via China Daily October 7, 2008)