Spanish La Liga Champions Real Madrid are now nine points clear at the top of the Spanish Liga after a 3-2 home win Sunday over third-placed Villarreal. Villarreal equalized twice against Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, but Villarreal were finally beaten by a goal 13 minutes from time from Real Madrid substitute Wesley Sneijder.

The late win keeps Real Madrid’s 100-per-cent home record intact - and leaves them well placed to claim their 31st Liga title. Real Madrid now have 53 points from 21 games, nine more points than Barcelona at second place, who were held to a 1-1 draw in Bilbao.

Star of the show in the Estadio Bernabeu was Real Madrid’s Robinho, in his best form since joining Real in 2005.

Robinho shot the hosts ahead after just eight minutes, on a perfect pass from veteran playmaker Guti. In the 15th minute, Guiseppe Rossi levelled for Villarreal with a clever, left-footed shot from just outside the penalty area. It was the first league goal that Real had conceded in 564 minutes.

The hosts dominated from then on, forcing several sharp saves from Villarreal keeper Diego Lopez. In the 52nd minute, Lopez did well to save from Raul Gonzalez and Guti but could do nothing to prevent Robinho from making it 2-1 by putting away the rebound.

Villarreal defender Joan Capdevila made it 2-2 in the 76th minute after the Real defense failed to clear a corner. Just one minute later, Real Madrid’s Wesley Sneijder restored Real’s lead with a low, left-footed shot after being put through by team mate Fernando Gago.

Other Spanish La Liga Results include:

• Deportivo beat Valladolid 3-1
• Almeria defeat Valencia 1-0
• Athletic Bilbado draw with Barcelona 1-1
• Real Betis defeat Espanyol 2-1
• Mallorca wins against Atletico Madrid 1-0
• Levante beats Murcia 3-2
• Racing Santander draws with Real Zaragoza 2-2
• Getafe beats Recreativo Huelva 3-1

Spanish La Liga Standings: Real Madrid 53 points, Barcelona 44 points, Villareal 38, Atletico Madrid 37, Espanyol 36

Upcoming Spanish La Liga fixtures include:

Almeria vs. Real Madrid, Real Betis vs. Deportivo La Coruna, Atletico Madrid vs. Murcia, Levante vs. Racing Santander, Real Zaragoza vs. Athletic Bilbao, Recreative Huelva vs. Sevilla, Valladolid vs. Valencia, Villareal vs. Mallorca, Barcelona vs. Osasuna, Getafe vs. Espanyol.

To bet on Spanish La Liga matches, visit the Bodog Sportsbook.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 at 11:31 am and is filed under Bernd Schuster, European Football Betting, Fabio Cannavaro, Guti, Iker Casillas, Javier Saviola, Raul, Real Madrid, Robinho, Ruud Van Nistelroy, Soccer News, Spanish Primera Liga, Sports News, Wesley Sneijder, sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.