Ten-man Real Madrid allowed Barcelona to make up ground in the race for the Spanish title after stumbling to a 1-1 draw at Real Murcia on Saturday.
Robinho put Real ahead after just eight minutes but Enrique De Lucas equalized shortly after the interval.
Spanish international Guti was sent off late in the game for a kick as Real's frustrations boiled over.
Real are now just two points ahead of Barcelona who made it a perfect seven home wins at their fortress Camp Nou with three second-half goals clinching a 3-0 victory over Recreativo Huelva on Saturday.
Gaby Milito made the breakthrough on 63 minutes with a header before teenage prodigy Bojan Krkic showed composure to score two minutes later.
The 17-year-old Bojan, tipped for a big future, admitted he was still coming to terms with life as a soccer superstar.
"Just three months ago I was at college," Bojan said. "To be honest I still can't believe everything that is happening. The feeling of scoring here at Camp Nou and then celebrating with my team-mates was incredible."
Argentine Lionel Messi completed the scoring late on with his eighth goal of the campaign.
Barcelona climbed to joint-second, level on points with Villarreal who had the opportunity to replace Real at the top of La Liga with a victory over Almeria yesterday.
Sevilla challenged for the title with Real and Barcelona last season but the troubled club fell to their seventh defeat of the season -- they only lost nine in the whole of the last campaign -- with a 2-1 home reverse against Real Mallorca on Saturday.
Robinho headed Real ahead after just eight minutes with his third goal in two games but they failed to build on the perfect start.
Murcia levelled four minutes after the break with De Lucas rising highest to power in a header.
The red mist then descended on Guti who was sent off for kicking an opponent and Murcia almost won it late on missing a guilt-edged chance.
Barcelona went into their match with criticism ringing in their ears after former favorite Edmilson, now at Chelsea, said there were several black sheep in the dressing room and that some of his former teammates were slacking in training.
"There have been various things that have not helped us but we just concentrated on playing football," Bojan said.
Milito broke the deadlock with a brilliant header before Bojan showed a touch of class receiving Thierry Henry's pass with a feint before dispatching his shot into the corner.
Messi got the goal he merited late on as Barca showed the home form of champions but six points from a possible 18 away from home is a problem that needs to be solved.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two