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MADRID, Spain -- Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late equalizer as Real Madrid avoided a bruising derby defeat at Spanish title rival Atletico Madrid with a 2-2 draw on Sunday. Ronaldo pounced on a loose ball inside the area to net the 82nd-minute equalizer -- his 23rd goal of the season for the league leaders. Karim Benzema put Madrid ahead at the Vicente Calderon Stadium after three minutes but, instead of wilting, Atletico hit back with two goals to take the lead by halftime. Koke smashed a low shot beyond Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez, who then watched Gabi Fernandezs swerving effort from 30 metres (yards) fly past him just before the break. Madrid stayed three points ahead of Atletico, but Barcelona was able to cut its deficit to Madrid to one point after a laboured 4-1 win against Almeria at the Camp Nou. Barcelona led 2-0 by the 24th after Alexis Sanchez tapped a rebound into the empty goal before Lionel Messi curled an exquisite left-foot free kick around the defensive wall and into the top of the goal for his 15th league strike of the season. A rout looked in the cards until Angel Trujillo got free to head home a corner in the 27th, and the relegation-threatened club made Barcelona work for its points. Carles Puyol, who had made a rare start, scored an even rarer goal after Messis header came off the bar straight to him in the 83rd minute. Xavi Hernandez scored moments later as the Catalans bounced back from a 3-1 loss to Real Sociedad last weekend. Madrid leads with 64 points, Barcelona has 63, and Atletico is on 61 points. The fifth meeting between crosstown rivals Atletico and Madrid since last Mays Copa del Rey final kept its trademark liveliness and aggression, with Atletico knowing defeat would likely end its dreams of a first title since 1996. "Atletico tried to make the game violent," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We dont play that way, however. But they tried right to the end." Atleticos defence played Benzema onside for the France striker to score his 15th of the season, leaving him alone to guide Angel Di Marias cross into the box past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Ugly confrontations followed as both teams used gamesmanship to try and gain an edge, with Arda Turan booked for protesting in the 11th after Sergio Ramos tripped Diego Costa inside the area with no penalty awarded. But Atleticos pressure paid off in the 28th when Turan spotted Koke inside the area to smash past Lopez. Diego Costa, who will play at the Calderon for Spain on Wednesday, was a physical presence and troubled Madrid throughout. Atletico took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Gabis powerful drive beat the slow-footed Lopez for a deserved lead. In the second half, Lopez kept it close as Atletico found space on the counter with Madrid pressing for an equalizer. Despite being outplayed, Madrids attack finally connected when Gareth Bale failed to control a cross but the ball fell to Ronaldo to extend Madrids unbeaten run in all competitions to 28 games. "Atletico played a bruising style right to the end, when we finally got a chance to play and create opportunities," Ancelotti said. Madrid is unbeaten at the Calderon for 15 games, dating to June 1999. "The result is what it is," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "We had chances to win it. At least we showed we are still alive in the title race." Ruben Castros late goal gave bottom side Real Betis a 1-1 draw at 10-man Villarreal, which slipped six points from fourth and the final Champions League spot. Betis was left 11 points from safety. Real Sociedad fell seven points behind fourth-place Athletic Bilbao after Kevin Gameiro skipped through a pair of defenders and netted the rebound from his initial shot to lead Sevilla to a 1-0 victory. Joaquin Larrivey scored as Rayo Vallecano climbed within three points of 17th-place Almeria -- and safety from the drop -- with a 1-0 win over Valencia, which played the last 15 minutes with 10 men. Cheap Air Max Free Shipping . Blown save in the ninth inning? No problem. Air Max Outlet .cas NHL Play of the Year showdown continues today with a man whos spent most of his career on highlight reels and a goalie actually "reaching back" for a save. https://www.airmaxchina.us/. - For a general manager who preaches building through the draft, Reggie McKenzie has struggled to find impact players his first two years in Oakland. Cheap Air Max . Gustafsson controlled the first round after getting top position on a throw, and came out much more forcefully in the second, buckling Manuwa with a Muay Thai knee, and finishing him off with strikes on the ground. Wholesale Air Max . - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying. ATLANTA -- David Ortiz homered and drove in four runs as the Boston Red Sox ended their 10-game losing streak, rallying from a five-run deficit to defeat the Atlanta Braves 8-6 on Monday. The defending World Series champions trailed 6-1 after the fourth, with starter Clay Buchholz walking a career-high eight in only three-plus innings. But Ortiz tied it by hitting a three-run homer off Ervin Santana in the fifth. With Red Sox fans at Turner Field chanting "Papi! Papi!" the World Series MVP then gave Boston the lead with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly off Ian Thomas (1-2) in the seventh. Following pregame declarations of confidence from manager John Farrell and general manager Ben Cherington, the Red Sox came back to end their worst skid since an 11-game slide in 1994. The losing streak was the longest for a defending World Series champion since the depleted 1998 Marlins had two 11-game skids. Justin Upton drove in three runs with two hits for Atlanta. Edward Mujica (2-1) got the win with a scoreless sixth inning following a 1 1/2-hour rain delay. Chris Johnson singled with one out in the ninth before Koji Uehara capped his 10th save with Andrelton Simmons game-ending double-play grounder. Uehara was Bostons seventh pitcher. Buchholz began the day with an unsightly 6.32 ERA, but even with his poor start he hadnt walked more than three batters in a game. He couldnt overcome unprecedented control problems, as he allowed six runs and four hits. Buchholz was wild from the start. He walked leadoff hitter Jason Heyward and catcher A.J. Pierzynski visited after a first-pitch ball to the next hitter, B.J. Upton. Pitching coach Juan Nieves made his first walk to the mound when Buchholz walked Freddie Freeman. Buchholz matched his season high of three walks in the second inning and added three walks in the Braves three-run third. Justin Upton had a two-run double and Gerald Laird had a run-scoring singlle off Buchholzs left foot.dddddddddddd Buchholz didnt get out of Atlantas three-run fourth. Heyward walked and scored on B.J. Uptons double, and Justin Upton and Simmons added RBI singles. As Bostons early deficit grew, the frustration from its players became more obvious. After his groundout in the fourth, star Dustin Pedroia stalked around the dugout, shouting in anger before slamming his hand on the bench. He seemed to be upset about a ball-strike call earlier in the at-bat. The Red Sox rallied with five runs in the fifth against Santana. Pedroia drove in two runs with a single before Ortiz hit his tying homer to left-centre. It marked the third straight start Santana allowed at least five earned runs. He gave up five runs on six hits and three walks in five innings. Following the rain delay, Thomas walked two batters following an infield hit by Brock Holt, loading the bases. Ortiz drove in Holt with a fly ball to right field, giving Boston a 7-6 lead. Pierzynskis single up the middle pushed the lead to two runs. Heyward led off the eighth with a single to centre field off Andrew Miller but slid past second base trying for a double. He was tagged by Pedroia while reaching back for the bag. NOTES: The crowd was a sellout of 48,501. Most fans remained during the rain delay. ... Buchholz singled in the second inning for his second hit in the majors. ... Holt had two hits and scored twice. ... The Red Sox recalled C-1B Ryan Lavarnway from Triple-A Pawtucket and optioned RHP Alex Wilson to Pawtucket. Lavarnway had a pinch-hit groundout in the seventh. ... Ortiz made his first start of the season at first base. The team placed 1B Mike Napoli (sprained finger) on the 15-day DL on Sunday. ... Braves LHP Jonny Venters, trying to return from his second Tommy John surgery, had more discomfort throwing from the mound before the game. ... Braves RHP Aaron Harang will face Red Sox LHP Jon Lester on Tuesday night. ' ' '