MADRID — Cristiano Ronaldo struck eight minutes from time to rescue a point for Real Madrid in a 2-2 draw away to city rival Atletico Sunday in a typically fiery La Liga derby. Atletico had fought back to lead 2-1 and was closing in on a first home win against Real in nearly 15 years before Ronaldo pounced on a loose ball and fired into the corner to maintain Real's three-point advantage over its neighbor at the top. It was the Portugal forward's 23rd goal of the campaign and extended Real's unbeaten run to 28 matches, stretching back to a 2-1 reverse away to champion Barcelona at the end of October. Real has 64 points, with Atletico second on 61 and Barca in third on 60. Real started the game brightly and was ahead after only three minutes when Karim Benzema stole in unmarked and poked a cross from Angel Di Maria past Thibaut Courtois from close range. But a clever work from Atletico's Turkish playmaker Arda Turan led to the equalizer in the 28th minute. After twisting and turning on the edge of the Real penalty area, Arda threaded a pass through to Koke and his powerful low shot flew into the corner past Diego Lopez. Captain Gabi scored the best goal of the game moments before halftime to put the home side ahead, with a 30-meter screamer that flew past Lopez. Real gradually turned the screw as Atletico tired in the second half and it was little surprise when a defensive lapse led to Ronaldo's late equalizer. Levante struck early and relied on its staunch defense when reduced to 10 men to beat Osasuna 2-0 at home Saturday. Levante's win extended its unbeaten streak to eight consecutive rounds and provisionally lifted it ahead of Sevilla and Valencia into seventh place. Midfielder Papakouly Diop gave Levante the lead. The forward Ruben Garcia doubled the hosts' advantage by fending off Damia Abella to control a long free kick before turning and firing the ball home. Elsewhere, Elche beat Celta Vigo 1-0 thanks to a late goal by Carles Gil, Malaga drew 1-1 at home with Valladolid, and Getafe was held to 0-0 by visiting Espanyol. Cagliari blanks Udinese With speculation swirling that the Sardinian club could be sold, Cagliari kept its focus to beat visiting Udinese 3-0 Sunday in the Serie A lunchtime fixture. The victory moved Cagliari level with Udinese in 12th place. Elsewhere, Parma beat 10-man Sassuolo 1-0 with a second-minute goal from Marco Parolo to move level with Hellas Verona in sixth place — one point behind Inter Milan and the Europa League zone. Verona goalkeeper Rafael saved a 47th-minute penalty from Rolando Bianchi in a 0-0 draw at home with Bologna. Also, Sampdoria won 2-0 at Torino; Atalanta beat 10-man Chievo Verona 2-1 and Genoa downed 10-man Catania 2-0. AS Roma missed the chance to put pressure on Serie A leader Juventus after playing out a frustrating goalless draw with Inter Milan in front of a half empty Stadio Olimpico Saturday. Rudi Garcia's side stays second on 58 points after an underwhelming display in an eerily quiet stadium shorn of the boisterous support from the Curva Sud and Curva Nord sections, closed following offensive chanting in previous home games. Inter is unbeaten in four games. Liverpool jumps to second Liverpool continued its impressive title challenge with Luis Suarez inspiring a 3-0 victory at Southampton that moved the club to second behind Chelsea in the English Premier League Saturday. A tilt at the crown had never been part of Rodgers' plan this season, but recent form has given Liverpool a real chance of a first championship since 1990. The latest victory came at Southampton — the only side to have won at Anfield this season — with goals from Suarez, Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard. Liverpool moved above Arsenal on goal difference, four points behind leader Chelsea and two points ahead of fourth-place Manchester City, which has two games in hand. Bayern goes 20 points clear An Arjen Robben hat trick helped Bayern Munich open up a 20-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga with a 5-1 win over ten-man Schalke 04, which suffered a second drubbing in four days. Having lost 6-1 at home to Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid Wednesday in the Champions League, Schalke was put to the sword again at Munich's Allianz Arena as Bayern went 4-0 up inside half-an-hour. Bayern extended its record unbeaten league run to 48 matches, dating back to October 2012, and earned its 15th straight league victory. “My son will enjoy having the match ball, my kids are my biggest fans,” said Dutch winger and father of three Robben. Earlier, Borussia Dortmund built on their midweek Champions League victory over Zenit St Petersburg by going second with a 3-0 win at home against Nuremberg. Monaco suffers first defeat Monaco suffered its first defeat of they year when it lost 2-0 at European hopefuls St Etienne Saturday, leaving Ligue 1 leader Paris St Germain five points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand. Midfielder Fabien Lemoine opened the scoring on 17 minutes with a stunning half-volley and Romain Hamouma netted the second in the 67th for St Etienne, which climbed up to the third Champions League qualifying spot. Monaco, which was unbeaten in all competitions this year, has 56 points from 27 games, with St Etienne eight points behind it. — Agencies
