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Real Madrid came from behind to beat bottom club Osasuna 3-1 in a controversial Liga match at the Bernabeu.

Osasuna went ahead through Javad Nekounam's 20th-minute header from Jaroslav Plasil's cross before Madrid fought back with second-half goals by Sergio Ramos, Gonzalo Higuain and Arjen Robben.

But the win was soured by two terrible refereeing decisions that saw the unfortunate Juanfran sent off. Twice the winger was fouled in the area, and twice referee Alfonso Perez Burrull incorrectly booked him for diving when he should have awarded penalties.

The first booking came on 13 minutes when Fernando Gago clumsily slid in on the Osasuna winger, taking him down first with his thigh and then with a trailing leg.

Gago got nowhere near the ball and it should have been a spot-kick.

The second decision was yet more woeful. With less than 10 minutes remaining and with Madrid leading 2-1, Pepe clearly trod on Juanfran's foot as he burst into the box and prepared to pull the trigger.

But inexplicably Burrull blew for simulation and sent the distraught Juanfran to an early bath.

The defeat was even more frustrating for Osasuna because two of the goals came from goalkeeping howlers by Roberto.

Sergio Ramos equalised four minutes after the second-half restart when he surged forward from right-back and released a low drive that squirmed through Roberto's hands.

Higuain put the hosts in front with a tap-in after a clever give-and-go with Robben while, in injury-time, Robben added a gloss on the win when his daisy-cutter shot was mis-handled by the poor Roberto.

The result puts Madrid in second place, level on points with Sevilla but with a superior goal difference, while Osasuna remain at the foot of the standings.

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Athletic Bilbao 3 Valencia 2

A late penalty by Fernando Llorente gave the Basque side a 3-2 win over Valencia at San Mames.

Striker Llorente placed the ball to substitute keeper Vicente Gualta's right after Manuel Fernandes was shown a second yellow card for pulling Javi Martinez's shirt as he prepared to finish from close range.

Valencia had opened the scoring inside five minutes when David Villa produced a clinical finish after being released by Juan Manuel Mata. It was the worst possible start for Athletic Club, but they levelled through Igor Gabilondo on 18 minutes when the midfielder met David Lopez's right-wing cross to head home.

Valencia retook the lead on the half-hour mark. Villa turned provider, breaking on the right and crossing for Fernando Morientes to poke home at the near post and claim his first Liga goal of the season.

The visitors lost goalkeeper Brito Renan to injury shortly before the interval, and his replacement Gualta had no sooner entered the fray than he was picking the ball out of his net. Lopez swung over a wicked free-kick from the left and Javi Martinez glanced an unstoppable header past Gualta to bring the sides level at 2-2.

The second half was a dreary affair, with the only highlights a disallowed goal for Fernando Lllorente and a shoving match that saw Aitor Ocio and Manuel Fernandes booked with 10 minutes left.

But the hosts piled the pressure on in the dying minutes and Llorente's penalty gave them the three points.

The result means Valencia stay fourth while Athletic move into the top half of the table.

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Almeria 1 Atletico Madrid 1

Atletico Madrid missed out on the chance to go fifth after a dreary draw at Almeria.

The home side took a fifth-minute lead when Kalou Uche pounced after a mistake from Atletico keeper Leo Franco.

Florent Sinama-Pongolle headed Los Rojiblancos level midway through the first half.

Both sides finished a dull game with 10 men after Hernan Pellerano (Almeria) and Ever Banega (Atletico) both picked up two yellow cards.

The visitors had the lion's share of possession and chances, with Pongolle missing a late sitter after Diego Alves parried Diego Forlan's shot, but Almeria held on for a point.

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Villarreal 2 Mallorca 0

Villarreal put a recent poor run behind them and climbed one place to fifth thanks to first-half goals from Joan Capdevila and Giuseppe Rossi.

Capdevila headed Villarreal in front just before the half-hour mark and Rossi doubled their lead from the penalty spot four minutes later after Mallorca defender Ivan Ramis fouled Santi Cazorla.

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Getafe 0 Racing Santander 1

Racing climbed to ninth in the standings with their sixth win of the season thanks to a 25th minute goal from striker Nicola Zigic, the tall Serbian finding space in the penalty area to hook in Oscar Serrano's cross.

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Malaga 4 Espanyol 0

Malaga moved up two places to sixth with a comfortable win over relegation-threatened Espanyol, down in 18th place with only three victories all season.

Forward Adrian Lopez stroked in Apono's cross to give Malaga the lead just before halftime and Apono then stepped up to score from the penalty spot after Adrian was dragged down by Mari Lacruz. Nabil Baha scored another penalty with five minutes left and Alberto Luque grabbed a fourth in added time.

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Valladolid 1 Betis 3

Striker Sergio Garcia twice lobbed Valladolid goalkeeper Justo Villar and created the opening goal for Xisco to help Betis advance three places to 13th. Garcia broke down the left and picked out Xisco who smashed a first-time shot past Justo Villar to put Betis in front before Luis Prieto exploited some hapless defending to nod in Pedro Leon's freekick for the equaliser.

Garcia ran on to a misplaced Jonathan Sesma back pass to lift the ball over Villar just after the hour and lobbed Villar again in added time with the keeper well off his line.

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Recreativo 2 Sporting Gijon 0

Jorge Garcia's own goal and a smart finish from midfielder Adrian Colunga moved Recre up one place to 16th with their fifth victory of the season.

Garcia was attempting to hook a cross to safety in the fifth minute but only succeeded in directing the ball past keeper Sergio Sanchez and Colunga poked home Iago Bouzon's speculative long pass just after the break.

Reda Maher / Will Tidey / Eurosport / Reuters