Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Van der Vaart allowed Real Madrid to come back from a goal down to win 2-1 in Almeria, keeping their title chase alive.

Real Madrid went into the game six points behind FC Barcelona who had won 24 hours previously and things looked bad for Manuel Pellegrini's side when Almeria opened the scoring after 13 minutes as Crusat scored from close range.

Real Madrid reacted well and called Almeria keeper Diego Alves into action on various occasions before Ronaldo equalized with a solo effort with his left foot.

Kala Uche missed a great chance to put the home side back ahead when he tried to backheel from close range with better options to score.

Almeria sat deep in the second half looking to catch Real Madrid on the break, but the visitors scored the decisive goal 20 minutes from time. Van der Vaart unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the area and this time Alves was unable to respond.

The win leaves Real Madrid with options to win the league even though FC Barcelona beat Deporitivo la Coruna 3-0 in the Camp Nou Stadium on Wednesday.

Bojan opened the scoring after 16 minutes receiving a pass, Pedro Rodriguez made the points safe with just over 20 minutes remaining and Toure Yaya made it 3-0 with a powerful shot shortly afterwards as the fans enjoyed a comfortable night in the Camp Nou.

Wednesday also saw Atletico Madrid suffer a 2-1 home defeat to bottom of the table side Xerez.

Mario Bermejo and Armenteros scored for Xerez, while Diego Forlan netted his 17th goal of the season for Atletico.

Racing Santander came back from a goal down to beat Espanyol 3- 1. Tchite scored two penalties for Racing, while Arana added his side's third in injury time.

Zaragoza and Mallorca drew 1-1, Ruben opened the scoring for the visitors after 12 minutes, but Chupete Suazo leveled eight minutes later.

Malaga drew 2-2 away to Osasuna. Walter Pandiani twice put Osasuna ahead, but his goals were canceled out by Felipe Caicedo and Baha in a game that ended with Ivan Gonzalez and Sergio being shown red cards in injury time.

The week's matches kicked off on Tuesday with Valladolid beating Sevilla 2-1 in Javier Clemente's home debut as Valladolid coach. Tenerife also grabbed a chance of avoiding relegation with a 2-0 win away to Sporting Gijon, while Getafe beat Villarreal 3-0 to maintain hopes of playing in Europe next season.

Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Van der Vaart allowed Real Madrid to come back from a goal down to win 2-1 in Almeria, keeping their title chase alive.

Real Madrid went into the game six points behind FC Barcelona who had won 24 hours previously and things looked bad for Manuel Pellegrini's side when Almeria opened the scoring after 13 minutes as Crusat scored from close range.

Real Madrid reacted well and called Almeria keeper Diego Alves into action on various occasions before Ronaldo equalized with a solo effort with his left foot.

Kala Uche missed a great chance to put the home side back ahead when he tried to backheel from close range with better options to score.

Almeria sat deep in the second half looking to catch Real Madrid on the break, but the visitors scored the decisive goal 20 minutes from time. Van der Vaart unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the area and this time Alves was unable to respond.

The win leaves Real Madrid with options to win the league even though FC Barcelona beat Deporitivo la Coruna 3-0 in the Camp Nou Stadium on Wednesday.

Bojan opened the scoring after 16 minutes receiving a pass, Pedro Rodriguez made the points safe with just over 20 minutes remaining and Toure Yaya made it 3-0 with a powerful shot shortly afterwards as the fans enjoyed a comfortable night in the Camp Nou.

Wednesday also saw Atletico Madrid suffer a 2-1 home defeat to bottom of the table side Xerez.

Mario Bermejo and Armenteros scored for Xerez, while Diego Forlan netted his 17th goal of the season for Atletico.

Racing Santander came back from a goal down to beat Espanyol 3- 1. Tchite scored two penalties for Racing, while Arana added his side's third in injury time.

Zaragoza and Mallorca drew 1-1, Ruben opened the scoring for the visitors after 12 minutes, but Chupete Suazo leveled eight minutes later.

Malaga drew 2-2 away to Osasuna. Walter Pandiani twice put Osasuna ahead, but his goals were canceled out by Felipe Caicedo and Baha in a game that ended with Ivan Gonzalez and Sergio being shown red cards in injury time.

The week's matches kicked off on Tuesday with Valladolid beating Sevilla 2-1 in Javier Clemente's home debut as Valladolid coach. Tenerife also grabbed a chance of avoiding relegation with a 2-0 win away to Sporting Gijon, while Getafe beat Villarreal 3-0 to maintain hopes of playing in Europe next season.