Raul Gonzalez scored in the 52nd minute Sunday to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Valencia and move the team three points off the lead in the Spanish league.
Raul's third goal of the season came from Roberto Carlos' low cross following a swift break down the left wing which also involved Jose Antonio Reyes.
Madrid's victory at Mestalla stadium was its third straight and was achieved without the injured Ronaldo, David Beckham, Jose Maria (Guti) Gutierrez and Ivan Helguera.
The 29-time champions trail FC Barcelona by three points and can move into second place if Sevilla fails to beat Athletic Bilbao later Sunday.
Valencia's defeat deepened the slump in its league form. The 2002 and '04 champions are in eighth place after gaining just two points from a possible 15.
Also, Diego Milito scored his ninth goal of the season to help 10-man Zaragoza earn a 1-1 draw at Celta Vigo.
Also, it was: Racing Santander 4, Recreativo Huelva 3; Getafe 0, Levante 0; Real Betis 1, Espanyol 1; Gimnastic Tarragona 2, Mallorca 3; and Osasuna 4, Deportivo La Coruna 1.
FC Barcelona leads the league with 29 points, followed by Madrid with 26, Sevilla with 25 and Zaragoza with 23.
Valencia, already lacking six players, including captain David Albelda, lost striker David Villa through injury in the 16th minute.
His replacement, left winger Vicente Rodriguez, saw plenty of the ball as Valencia dominated the first half but couldn't create clear chances.
Madrid's own injury problems worsened after the first half.
Defender Fabio Cannavaro, expected to be named European player of the year on Monday, didn't play after halftime while Reyes was carried off on a stretcher on the hour.
After Raul's goal, Valencia came close to an equalizer three times.
Miguel Angel Angulo fired into the side netting in the 54th, Vicente shot narrowly wide in the 68th and Angulo again blazed wide in the 89th.
Milito headed home in the seventh minute for Zaragoza, which had midfielder Alberto Zapater ejected in the 13th.
Celta striker Fernando Baiano took advantage of a mistake by Zaragoza goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez to level from close range in the 53rd.
Celta's former Argentina international Gustavo Lopez also was red-carded in the 78th.
The draw left 10th-place Celta with only one win in six games at Balaidos stadium this season.
Promoted Recreativo's run of three straight wins ended at Santander, whose towering striker Nikola Zigic scored a goal in each half.
Ezequiel Garay _ with a penalty _ and Gonzalo Colsa added goals for the hosts before halftime.
Recreativo scored through Portuguese defender Beto, Ikechuckwu Uche and Jesus Vazquez. Beto was sent off on the hour for a foul on Zigic.
Getafe coach Bernd Schuster, making his 400th Spanish league appearance as player or coach, saw his side play out a stalemate with promoted Levante.
Espanyol, which had scored six goals for the first time in 50 years on Thursday in the UEFA Cup, didn't score until injury time to draw with Betis. Walter Pandiani's goal levelled Brazilian striker Robert's 33rd-minute penalty.
Gimnastic's defeat against Mallorca left the promoted side winless in 11 matches, and brought the dismissal of coach Luis Cesar Sampedro several hours later.
Alejandro Campano gave Gimnastic a 40th-minute lead, with Mallorca replying through early second-half goals by Bosko Jankovic and Victor Casadesus.
New signing Ruben Castro equalized for Mallorca in the 73rd only for substitute Juan Arango to win Mallorca three points with an 88th-minute free kick.
Osasuna striker Roberto Soldado scored a spectacular goal in each half to help his team beat Deportivo and end a seven-game winless streak.
Valdo Lopes and Savo Milosevic scored Osasuna's other goals, while Juan Rodriguez netted Deportivo's consolation.
On Saturday, Barcelona beat Villarreal 4-0, while Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 with Real Sociedad.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
