体坛英语资讯：Real held to 1-1 draw by Barcelona in Bernabeu

MADRID, April 17 -- Real Madrid and FC Barcelona drew 1-1 in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday night in a result that virtually guarantees Barcelona the league title.

Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored penalties in a game in which Barcelona enjoyed 70 percent of the ball and be disappointed not to win after Raul Albiol was sent off for Real Madrid early in the second half.

Both sides could have won the game in a frantic last 10 minutes, but both Real Madrid's Sami Khedira and Barcelona's David Villa wasted good scoring chances.

Elsewhere Valencia strengthened their grip on third place and an automatic qualification for the group stage of next season's Champions League thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win in Almeria.

Roberto Soldado's seventh goal in three games broke the deadlock after 50 minutes and further goals from Marius Stankevicius and Jordi Alba sealed what turned into an easy three points.

Almeria were destined for relegation to the second division after three seasons in the top flight.

Saturday also saw Getafe climb away from the relegation zone with a 1-0 win at home against a defensive and disappointing Sevilla.

Miku scored the only goal of the game with 15 minutes remaining following a defensive error from Fazio.

Malaga also took an important 3-0 win at home to Mallorca. Julio Cesar Baptista scored twice on his return from injury and Seba Fernandez also scored in a comfortable win against Mallorca.

Sunday saw Real Sociedad end a five game losing streak with a 2- 1 home win against Sporting Gijon. Antoine Greizmann scored both goals for the Basques who draw level with Sporting on 38 points.

Levante assured their place in the La Liga next season with a 2- 1 win over Hercules. Ruben Suarez and Juanlu scored for the home side and David Trezeguet's 81st minute goal came too late for the visitors to take anything from the game.

Deportivo la Coruna will also be breathing easier on Sunday night after defeating Racing Santander 2-0 in the Riazor Stadium. Lassard Nouioui and Xisco both scored at in the first three minutes of the second half to lift their team five points clear of the relegation zone with one point more than Racing.

Athletic Bilbao came from behind to win 2-1 away to Osasuna. Athletic looked to be in trouble after Kike Sola put the home side ahead and Xabi Castillo was sent off for a harsh second yellow card. However, Fernando Llorente's 16th goal of the season levelled the scores and Iker Muniain took advantage of a terrible defensive mix up to score a last minute winner.

Finally Espanyol came back from behind on two occasions to draw 2-2 at home to Atletico Madrid. Koke scored for Atletico in the first minute of the game, before Pablo Osvaldo levelled eight minutes before half time. Kun Aguero put Atletico ahead following an error from Javier Callejon, but Osvaldo netted his second of the game to assure a share of the points.

Villarreal entertain Zaragoza in the last game of the round on Monday night.