Real Madrid draw and Barca win again leave title race wide open

Villarreal produced the shock of the week in Spanish football Sunday when they drew 1-1 away to Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to once again throw the BBVA Primera Liga title race wide open.

Carlo Ancelotti's side were once again well below their best and needed a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty after 52 minutes to open the scoring.

They were stunned after 64 minutes, however, when Gerard Moreno leveled the score 12 minutes later and although Madrid looked to turn the screw in the closing minutes, Villarreal held on for a draw.

That means the race for the title is once again wide open after FC Barcelona won 3-1 away to struggling Granada on Saturday thanks to star performances from Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic.

Rakitic scored the opening goal after Suarez's shot was left for him to slide home from close range and then set up Suarez shortly after the break for Barca to double their lead.

Granada got a lifeline from a Fran Rico penalty, but Leo Messi made the points safe after Rakitic and Suarez again linked up to allow him to tap home his 27th league goal of the season.

Barca's win coupled with Real Madrid's draw means that both sides can win the title if they win their remaining matches and adds extra importance to the "Classico" scheduled for March 22nd.

Atletico Madrid remain in the title race, but were unable to take advantage of Real's slip up as they were held to a 0-0 draw by a tough performance by fifth place Sevilla.

As a result of Sevilla dropping points Valencia's grip on fourth place tightened thanks to a relatively straightforward 2-0 win at home to Real Sociedad thanks to two second half goals from Pablo Piatti, which means their rivals have yet to take all three points on the road this campaign.

Athletic Club took a significant step away from the relegation zone thanks to a Carlos Gurpegui leader which gave them a 1-0 win away to neighbors Eibar, who have now lost their last six matches, while Athletic move eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Rayo Vallecano striker Alberto Bueno was the man of the weekend in La Liga as he scored all four goals in his side's 4-2 win at home to Levante in just 15 minutes.

Levante had opened the scoring through Victor Casadesus after 13 minutes in the Vallecas Stadium before Bueno scored in the 23rd, 32nd, 33rd and 38th minutes to seal the win for Rayo before halftime.

Kala Uche pulled a late consolation goal back for Levante, but the result leaves his side in the bottom three, while Rayo move seven points clear of the drop zone.

Almeria and Deportivo la Coruna ended in a 0-0 draw with Almeria finishing the match with just nine men after Thievy and Michel were both sent off for seeing two yellow cards each.

Saturday ended with Malaga defeating manager-less Getafe 3-2 in the la Rosaleda Stadium. Getafe had been stunned by the resignation of Quique Sanchez Flores two days earlier, but produced a spirited display Alvaro Vazquez scored twice for the visitors, but goals from Juanmi, Darder and Ricardo Horta meant the points stayed in Malaga. Endi