Karim Benzema struck a second-half equaliser for Real Madrid as Zinedine Zidane's side were forced to come from behind to draw 1-1 with struggling Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday evening.
Victory for Real Madrid would have seen them close the gap on league leaders Barcelona to just two points, but a gutsy performance from Betis was enough to secure the Andalusian side a share of the spoils.
Betis, now under caretaker manager Juan Merino, fed off the incredible noise inside the stadium to make a strong start to the match and they took the lead in the seventh minute when Alvaro Cejudo struck a volley into the top corner, moments after Keylor Navas had made a smart save to keep out Fabian.
The strike from Cejudo was Betis's first goal in seven matches and stunned a Real Madrid team that were not enjoying the physicality of the home side in the early exchanges.
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Real Madrid managed to gain a foothold as play progressed and had a half-chance through Benzema in the 17th minute, but the Frenchman could not beat Antonio Adan from a tight angle, before Isco headed straight at the Betis goalkeeper after meeting a cross from Danilo.
The away side's best chance of the first period came in the 32nd minute when Benzema set up Cristiano Ronaldo inside the Betis box, but the Portuguese screwed his effort wide of the post. Less than one minute later, Pepe had a free header from a Toni Kroos corner, but the centre-back missed the target.
Real Madrid also had a strong penalty shout 10 minutes before the interval when Petros stood on Benzema's leg inside the box, but the referee was not interested, much to the frustration of Los Blancos' players.
Betis had lost their last two league games against Real Madrid 5-0, but the Andalusian side managed to hold off the pressure and lead by one goal entering the half-time break.
Zidane's side started the second 45 minutes on top, with Kroos coming close from distance, before Benzema fired over from close range after initially being kept out by Adan.
James Rodriguez found himself completely unmarked from a corner as Real Madrid once again came close before the hour, but the Colombian struck straight at Adan, who was enjoying himself against his former club.
Real Madrid continued to dominate the possession as the second period gathered pace, but Adan was able to claim a number of high balls as Ronaldo, Benzema and James continued to be frustrated in the final third. Dani Carvajal also came close in the 69th minute, but his low strike just missed the post.
Los Blancos were level in the 71st minute, however, when James, who looked offside when he collected the initial pass from Kroos, squared for Benzema and the striker could not miss from close range.
Real Madrid had two wonderful chances to take the lead just before the 80-minute mark, but Adan denied James, before keeping out a close-range poke from Benzema, who seemed certain to score his second.
Adan was forced into more heroics late on to keep out Ronaldo as the home side, who came close to winning it late on through Ruben Castro, held on to secure a shock point and help them move one place into 14th position in the table.
Matt Law
