MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain scored as Real Madrid beat Racing Santander 2-0 to ensure they stayed tied with Barcelona at the top of the Spanish league on Sunday ahead of their match next weekend.

Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute, firing his 18th goal of the season past Fabio Coltorti after being tripped as he broke into the area. Jose Maria “Guti” Gutierrez sent Higuain clear on Coltorti in the 76th to score his 24th of the season. Madrid and Barcelona both have 77 points but Madrid are ahead on goal difference heading into Saturday’s game between Spain’s two biggest clubs at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Earlier, David Villa’s two late goals helped Valencia beat Osasuna 3-0 and kept his club clear in third. Valencia, who have 56 points with eight games left, were the only team with a mathematical chance of catching Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Pierre Webo’s 88th-minute equaliser earned Mallorca

a 1-1 draw at Almeria to remain fourth, on goal difference over Sevilla, who beat Tenerife on Saturday to climb to 48 points. Kalu Uche headed in the opener after five minutes.

Atletico Madrid maintained their hopes of European football with a convincing 3-0 win

over Deportivo La Coruna with Juanito Gutierrez, Diego Forlan and Tiago all scoring in the Spanish capital. Atletico are 10th with 40 points, while Deportivo’s fourth straight defeat left them eighth with 42 points.

Valladolid’s relegation worries continued following a 2-0 defeat to Villarreal, while last-place Xerez maintained their hopes of staying up with a 2-2 draw at Sporting Gijon. Valladolid are only one point ahead of Xerez after the last-place club stretched their unbeaten run to four games. Also, Pablo Osvaldo canceled out Manu Del Moral’s 28th-minute opener with a looping shot in the 50th as Espanyol rallied to draw 1-1 at Getafe.

Premier league

London: Liverpool’s challenge for a Champions League place suffered another setback as Liam Ridgewell’s goal gave Birmingham a 1-1 draw at St Andrews in the English Premier League.

Rafael Benitez’s side took the lead early in the second half through Steven Gerrard. But Ridgewell equalised soon after to leave Liverpool without an away win in seven league outings. The Reds remain four points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City, having played a game more than Roberto Mancini’s side.

Elsewhere, Fulham pushed Wigan deeper into the relegation dogfight as second-half goals from Stefano Okaka and Brede Hangeland clinched a 2-1 win over the Latics. Roy Hodgson’s side trailed to Jason Scotland’s first half goal at Craven Cottage, but on-loan Roma forward Okaka equalised for the hosts early in the second half before Hangeland headed the winner that leaves Wigan just four points above the relegation zone.

Also, West Ham striker Araujo Ilan snatched a last-gasp equaliser to earn his relegation-threatened side a vital 2-2 draw at Everton. Gianfranco Zola’s side looked certain to suffer a defeat when Ayegbeni Yakubu headed Everton into the lead with five minutes remaining. But Ilan struck with a brilliant diving header less than two minutes later to lift the Hammers one point clear of the relegation zone.

Under-pressure Zola must have feared it wouldn’t be his day when Diniyar Bilyaletdinov gave Everton a first-half lead before Mido saw his penalty saved by Tim Howard before the break. But Manuel Da Costa equalised on the hour and Ilan saved the day after Yakubu’s strike.