Real Madrid on Sunday snatched a 1-1 draw at Valencia in La Liga thanks to a strike in the dying seconds by Karim Benzema, who was aided in the most unlikely fashion by a header from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The goalkeeper rushed up the pitch for Toni Kroos’ last-gasp corner, met the delivery with a powerful header that his opposite number Jaume Domenech could only parry and then saw Benzema steer the loose ball home.
The 95th-minute equalizer allowed second-placed Real to go level on 35 points with leaders Barcelona before they visit their archrivals in el Clasico tomorrow.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Carlos Soler had put Valencia ahead in the 78th minute of a tense and tight game, meeting a cutback from Daniel Wass and lashing into the net from close range.
Real substitute Luka Jovic looked to have leveled in stoppage-time, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
However, the visitors refused to cave in and the late intervention from Courtois helped salvage a point that preserves his side’s long unbeaten run in all competitions, which has been stretched to 11 games.
“Courtois decided to come up for the corner and that shows that we always want more,” Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “We deserved to get the draw because we made a huge effort in the game. This is Real Madrid, where you never give up. We kept believing we could score and in the end we did.”
The goal prevented Valencia from climbing up to sixth and they were instead left in eighth place on 27 points.
“We came here looking for the three points, but we were punished by Valencia’s goal and this point tastes like very little,” Real captain Sergio Ramos said. “But we were up against a side in great form and this point keeps us level with Barca, and now we are focusing on el Clasico and getting all three points there.”
Barca’s 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad on Saturday meant that Real would have gone two points clear at the top with a victory at Valencia, although they were up against a side who have hit form after a stop-start campaign.
Valencia had won their previous three games and last week celebrated a momentous 1-0 victory at Ajax in Amsterdam which took them into the round-of-16 of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in seven years.
Real also had to contend with a poor record at Mestalla, where they had only won on one of their previous five league visits.
Zidane opted to rest midfield anchor Casemiro for the first time this season, as the Brazilian would have been suspended for the trip to the Camp Nou if he had picked up a yellow card.
Real coped well in his absence, hemming Valencia into their own half in the first half, and it took a fine save from goalkeeper Domenech to prevent Kroos from putting Real ahead in the first half, while Benzema also came close with a header.
“With everything we did in the game I think we should have scored a few more goals,” Zidane said. “The point feels like a small reward. In the end, we got an important result, but it doesn’t feel that way because we played so well in the first half.”
Elsewhere, third-placed Sevilla fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Villarreal, Getafe moved up to fourth place with a 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid, RC Celta de Vigo were held to a 2-2 draw at home by RCD Mallorca, while RCD Espanyol and Real Betis Balompie also drew by the same scoreline.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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