"In the Spanish "La Liga" championship last Sunday, the last five matches of the 17th round were played.
In a thrilling match at the "Mestalla" fortress, Real Madrid managed to escape with a draw against Valencia just before Wednesday's "El Clasico". Karim Benzema's goal in the final moments of the match secured a draw with Valencia.
Zinedine Zidane's team had a real chance to become the sole leader of the league, but not losing this match was also important - both Real and Barca remain level with 35 points.
Real Madrid started the match actively, while Valencia tried to play from defense. However, Real applied effective pressure and forced the hosts to make mistakes in dangerous areas.
After the first 45 minutes, no goals were scored - despite dominating for 25 minutes, Real lacked sharpness in front of goal.
In the second half, there was a different picture - Real played a more passive game, which Valencia tried to capitalize on. Thibaut Courtois saved the "whites" several times, but in the 78th minute the visitors were still punished - after a great pass from Daniel Wass, Carlos Soler sent the ball into Real Madrid's goal.
Real Madrid had no escape now - even Sergio Ramos joined the attack, but they couldn't equalize quickly. However, just when it seemed that the match was about to end, Real won a corner kick which became the decisive moment of the game.
In the 95th minute, Thibaut Courtois ran into the penalty area, rose above the others and took a dangerous shot at Valencia's goal. Although the Belgian's shot was blocked, the ball unexpectedly fell to Karim Benzema's feet, and he extended the dramatic draw with a powerful shot.
In the other matches, Sevilla lost points for the second time in a row. The Andalusians, who are in third place, lost 1-2 to Villarreal.
The remaining matchups ended with a victory for Madrid's Getafe and two draws.
Results:
"Valencia" 1 - 1 "Real Madrid"
78' [1 - 0] C. Soler
90+5' [1 - 1] K. Benzema
"Getafe" 2 - 0 "Valladolid"
36' [1 - 0] Cucu
82' [2 - 0] Angel
"Espanyol" 2 - 2 "Real Betis"
4' [0 - 1] B. Iglesias
19' [1 - 1] S. Darder
41' [2 - 1] Bernardo
67' [2 - 2] M. Bartra
"Sevilla" 1 - 2 "Villarreal"
13' [0 - 1] R. Albiol
61' [1 - 1] Munir
74' [1 - 2] K. Ekambi
"Celta" 2 - 2 "Mallorca"
20' [1 - 0] Rafinha
33' [1 - 1] S. Sevilla (penalty)
50' [2 - 1] I. Aspas (penalty)
83' [2 - 2] A. Budimir
78' A. Raillo (Mallorca) sent off from the field
