Madrid back into second

La Liga : Real Madrid came back from a goal down to beat bottom-of-the-table Osasuna 3-1 and reclaim second spot in the Primera…

La Liga: Real Madrid came back from a goal down to beat bottom-of-the-table Osasuna 3-1 and reclaim second spot in the Primera Liga from Sevilla, 12 points behind leaders Barcelona.

Jose Antonio Camacho's side took a shock lead at the Bernabeu on 20 minutes when Iranian midfielder Javad Nekounam outleapt Fabio Cannavaro to nod Jaroslav Plasil's cross past Iker Casillas.

An error by goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez gifted Real an equaliser just after the break when a long-range Sergio Ramos shot spooned into the net off his hands and Gonzalo Higuain netted shortly after, tapping home Arjen Robben's low cross.

In-form Robben made sure of the points in added time, cutting in from the right and driving the ball past Fernandez.

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The match ended in controversy after Juanfran was shown a second yellow card for diving when he appeared to have been fouled in the area by Pepe.

His earlier caution had also come after a penalty claim when Fernando Gago looked to have felled the former Real player on the edge of the box.

In other matches, Villarreal moved up to fifth with a 2-0 home win over struggling Real Mallorca, Real Betis won 3-1 at Real Valladolid and Malaga thumped Espanyol 4-0 to climb to sixth. Getafe lost 1-0 at home to Racing Santander and Recreativo Huelva beat Sporting Gijon 2-0.