Late equaliser costs Real Madrid two more points away to Levante

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane had said his side still had a hope of the title despite kicking off the weekend 19 points behind FC Barcelo and Madrid opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a Sergio Ramos header on Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Madrid were far from fluid however, and Levante equalized before the break thanks to a smart finish from Emmanuel Boateng, who slotted the ball home from outside the area.

The second half saw Real Madrid try and fail to score until Isco, who had replaced Gareth Bale earlier, finished after good work from Karim Benzema with 9 minutes left.

Zidane then replaced Roldo and paid for that as Levante stched a late equalizer from recent signing Giampaulo Pazzini after some poor defending from Madrid.

Eibar kicked off the day with a 5-1 thrashing of a hapless Sevilla in a game they led from the moment Kike Garcia opened the scoring in the 40th second.

Fabian Orella added two more, while Ivan Ramis and Arbilla, who scored a late free kick, rounded off the scoring.

Loren Moron had a dream debut for Betis as he scored both goals which gave his side a 2-1 win at home to Villarreal. IANS