Real draws, Barca wins
Monday, November 26, 2007

Robinho scored in the ninth minute but Real Madrid settled for a 1-1 draw against Real Murcia on Saturday.

Enrique de Lucas equalized early in the second half for Murcia, which had a few chances to win the match in the closing minutes after Jose Guti was sent off for Madrid.

Real Madrid (9-2-2) still leads the league but Barcelona defeated Recreativo 3-0 to pull into second place, just two points back. Villarreal, which also trails Madrid by only two points, can take over the top spot Sunday when it plays Almeria.

Real Madrid started well, scoring less than 10 minutes in when Guti made a perfect cross to Robinho at the left post. Robinho headed the ball inside the near post and it crossed the line despite a great effort from Murcia goalie Antonio Notario that also knocked the ball out.

Real Murcia (3-5-5), which is 12th, leveled the match in the 49th minute with a powerful header from de Lucas. He ran onto a corner kick in the box and hit it well to beat Real Madrid goalie Iker Casillas.

After Guti was sent off in the 83rd minute, Murcia had two great chances late but couldn't convert either.

Abel had the first chance with a dipping shot from well outside the box that Casillas had to touch over the crossbar for a corner.

Then in the 90th minute, Henok Goitom worked a nice give-and-go but had his angle cut down by Casillas and fired wide of the right post from just a few yards out.

Barcelona struggled early but got goals from Gabriel Milito, Bojan Krkic and Leo Messi in the second half to post its eight win of the season.

Also on Saturday, Ariel Ibagaza and Fernando Varela scored in the first half to give Mallorca an early lead and it held on for a 2-1 win over Sevilla.