Pazzini late show sees Real held at Levante

MADRID: Former Italy striker Giampaolo Pazzini scored a dramatic late equaliser as Levante held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw on Saturday, leaving Zinedine Zidane’s men 18 points adrift of La Liga leaders Barcelona.

Sergio Ramos headed the visitors into an 11th-minute lead with his 50th La Liga goal for the club, but Levante equalised before half-time through Emmanuel Boateng.Isco came off the bench to put Real back in front late on, but Pazzini stunned the struggling defending champions with an 89th-minute strike on his debut.

“We controlled the game, especially in the first half, and in the second we managed to do the hard part — get back into the game and score the second goal,” said Zidane.“Then we should have been ready, we could have avoided the second goal, but we didn’t and it’s hard because it’s two dropped points.”

The Champions League is Real’s only realistic chance of more silverware this season, but they’ll need to find a significant upturn in form to challenge Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16, first-leg tie in Madrid on February 14.

Sevilla’s push for a top-four finish and a Champions League place took a massive dent earlier on Saturday, as they were thrashed 5-1 at Eibar.Chilean international Fabian Orellana scored twice as Eibar moved up to seventh, just one point and one place behind Sevilla.

Fifth-placed Villarreal had Daniele Bonera sent off in the first half in a 2-1 defeat by Real Betis, as Betis forward Loren Moron scored twice on his debut after being promoted from the reserve team.