MADRID: Real Madrid’s advantage over Barcelona at the top of Spain’s Primera Liga was clipped to eight points after a magnificent late free kick from Santi Cazorla earned Malaga a point from a 1-1 draw in the Estadio Bernabeu.

Madrid appeared to be edging towards victory, courtesy of a 35th-minute header from Karim Benzema, when the Spain midfielder curled a 25-metre free kick up beyond keeper Iker Casillas’s left hand and inside the angle of post and bar.

This was the first time in 12 games that Madrid had fallen short of league victory and was not the way the club had expeccted to be celebrating the 110th anniversary of the record nine-times European champions’ foundation.

Madrid complained that they should have been awarded an 85th-minute penalty for a trip on Marcelo but they had enough other chances to secure all the points.

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