La Liga race tightens after Madrid derby draw

The three-horse race for the La Liga title tightened on Sunday when leaders Real Madrid drew 2-2 at city rivals Atletico and Barcelona won 4-1 at home to Almeria.

Real needed a Cristiano Ronaldo goal eight minutes from time to rescue a point at Atletico's Calderon stadium in a typically feisty Madrid derby, before Lionel Messi became only the third player to reach 230 La Liga goals in Barca's victory at the Nou Camp.

With 12 matches left, Real lead on 64 points, with champions Barca, chasing a fifth title in six years, second on 63 and Atletico, who are mounting a genuine challenge for the first time since they last won La Liga in 1996, third on 61.

Atletico recovered from conceding in the third minute to lead Real 2-1 at halftime and were closing in on a first home win against their neighbours in nearly 15 years before Ronaldo pounced on a loose ball and fired low into the corner.

It was the Portugal forward's 23rd goal of the campaign and helped extend Real's unbeaten run to 28 matches, stretching back to a 2-1 reverse away to Barca at the end of October.

Pele talks about Ronaldo

Pele looks to be impressed by Ronaldo as he says about him before and after the Zurich Ceremony.

FIFA Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo must continue to maintain his exceptional high standards in order to be classed among the sport's legends, according to Brazil great Pele who compared the Portuguese to Eusebio.

Portugal and Real Madrid forward Ronaldo beat Argentine's Lionel Messi and France's Franck Ribery to claim the prestigious award for the second time on Monday.

"To me the last true great was (France playmaker Zinedine) Zidane. He stayed at the same very high level for at least 10 years," Pele, who was awarded a honorary Ballon d'Or, told France Football magazine.

Ronaldo is on the right path, though, and reminded the three-times World Cup winner of former Portugal striker Eusebio, the top scorer at the 1966 World Cup, who died earlier this month at the age of 71.

"Today Messi and Ronaldo are above the rest. Ronaldo reminds me a bit of Eusebio, he is well bred.

"He has the elegance and the creativity of the great players," Pele said.

Winning the World Cup used to have greater significance in the voting for the Ballon d'Or but the success of Ronaldo and Messi, who won the award from 2009-12, proved that was no longer true, according to the Brazilian.

"It is perhaps less important than it used to be when I was playing," Pele of the showpiece tournament that the duo will look to win for the first time later this year.

"I'm not saying it is not essential to win the World Cup but the Champions League now has the same considerable impact celebrity-wise."

Ronaldo wins it!!!

Ronaldo scored a staggering 69 goals in 59 matches for club and country in 2013 and was hot favourite to lift the prestigious award he last held in 2008.