A substituted Cristiano Ronaldo cut a disconsolate figure as Real Madrid conceded a late equalizer to draw 2-2 at Las Palmas Saturday. Earlier, Barcelona shrugged off the absence of the injured Lionel Messi to move to within a point of Madrid at the top of the table as Luis Suarez and Neymar were on target in a 5-0 thrashing of Sporting Gijon. Ronaldo was replaced moments after helping Madrid go 2-1 in front when Karim Benzema slotted home the rebound after the Portuguese's initial effort was saved. However, he watched on as Sergio Araujo took advantage of some soft Madrid defending to level as the European champion dropped points for the second time in four days. Sevilla missed the chance to go level with Madrid at the top as it suffered its first league defeat of the season, losing 3-1 at Athletic Bilbao. Juve struggles to 1-0 win It was meant to be the match where Mario Mandzukic showed he could be more than an understudy to Gonzalo Higuain this season. Instead, the Croatia forward again appeared off form and disinterested as Juventus labored past Palermo 1-0 in Serie A Saturday. Dani Alves' long-range effort took a massive deflection off Edoardo Goldaniga's heel, sending the ball past Palermo goalkeeper Josip Posavec. In another match, Napoli beat Chievo Verona 2-1. Juventus remained a point clear of Napoli, which is the only unbeaten team in the league. Monaco goes top With Radamel Falcao out injured, Monaco came from behind to claim a scrappy 2-1 win over Angers at the Stade Louis II Saturday and move top of the Ligue 1 table. Falcao was absent after being hospitalized with a blow to the head in the principality club's 4-0 trouncing at local rival Nice during the week. Bordeaux was held to a 0-0 draw by Caen while newly-promoted Metz continued its good start to the campaign by winning 1-0 in Montpellier thanks to a Mevlut Erding penalty. Bastia defeated Guingamp 1-0 and Lois Diony scored twice as Dijon beat Rennes 3-0. — Agencies
