Becks misses Real's late show

David Beckham missed the late drama as Real Madrid beat Valladolid 3-2 with a last-minute strike from Ronaldo.

The England captain was taken off with nine minutes remaining after Real had already pulled back a two goal deficit after goals from Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo's penalty had put the defending champions level following Oscar Gonzalez's first-half double.

Valladolid's Juan Manuel Pena and Madrid's Santiago Solari were both redcarded in the second half but the victory puts Real two points clear of Valencia, 6-1 winners at Malaga on Saturday.

Deportivo stay third after a Diego Tristan penalty beat visitors Sevilla 1-0.

Barcelona eased the pressure on coach Frank Rijkaard by thrashing 10-man Albacete 5-0 with goals from Xavi Hernandez, Javier Saviola, Ricardo Quaresma, Edgar Davids - his first for the club - and Luis Enrique.

Espanyol boosted their fight to stay up with an impressive 1-0 over Villarreal courtesy of Claudiu Raducanu's goal.

Real Sociedad beat Racing Santander 1-0, Athletic Bilbao won 3-1 at Mallorca and John Toshack's struggling Murcia gave themselves hope with a 1-0 victory over relegation rivals Real Zaragoza.