MADRID, March 22 - Ronaldo ended his goalscoring drought by grabbing a
last-gasp equaliser to earn Real Madrid a dramatic 1-1 draw at Real Zaragoza on
Wednesday.
The Brazilian drilled home from 10 metres after pouncing on a loose ball in
the area a minute into stoppage time to score his first Primera Liga goal in
seven games and cancel out a second-half strike from Argentine forward Diego
Milito.
It was Real's first goal in four games in all competitions but did not stop
them dropping to third place, a point behind Osasuna who had earlier notched up
their third win in a row with a 2-0 victory at home to struggling Real Sociedad.
"I scored again and it will allow me to be a little more relaxed in the
forthcoming matches," Ronaldo told Canal Plus television.
"We fought to the end. The team is showing its character. We are fighting
despite all the bad luck at the moment surrounding us. We must keep it going
like this."
Valencia slipped to fourth spot after being held to a 1-1 draw by regional
rivals Villarreal, who could have snatched the win had Santiago Canizares not
saved a late penalty from Juan Roman Riquelme.
With nine games left Barcelona, who came from a goal down to beat Getafe 3-1
at home on Tuesday, lead the standings on 67 points, 12 ahead of Osasuna and 13
clear of arch-rivals Real.
Valencia occupy the final Champions League berth a further point back and
enjoy a seven-point cushion over Deportivo Coruna who moved up to fifth after a
2-1 win over basement side Malaga -- their first home victory in over three
months.
Osasuna gained the edge in the race for runners-up spot behind Barca after a
stunning sixth-minute volley from midfielder Inaki Munoz and a late penalty from
Patxi Punal.
Sociedad's defeat saw them slip into the relegation zone two points adrift of
Real Betis, Alaves and Athletic Bilbao.
Betis got a vital 1-0 home win over Racing Santander, Bilbao scraped a
last-gasp draw against visiting Espanyol and Alaves sneaked a late 1-0 victory
at home to high-flying Celta Vigo.