Real Madrid beats Levante 3-1 in Spanish league

Real Madrid may still be in crisis, but coach Zinedine Zidane can take heart from the performance of two youth team products who came to the rescue away to Levante on Wednesday night.

However, Isco's late strike from Ronaldo's cut-back secured the points in stoppage time.

Madrid have fallen nine points behind league leaders Barcelona in recent weeks and that gap will widen should the Catalan giants get something from their game in hand against Rayo Vallecano on Friday morning (AEDT).

Real Madrid extended their lead over fourth-placed Villarreal thanks to a 3-1 win over Levante with Cristiano Ronaldo netting.

Mayoral stood out in the fixture and a glimpse of his brilliance was the piledriver shot which hit the woodwork, but luckily enough bounced back into the net with a deflection from Diego Marin, resulting in an own goal.

Missing several regular starters including Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, Madrid struggled to impose its game.

Conor McGregor gets a record million-dollar purse at UFC 196
But there is no doubt that a potential fight between the two high-profile stars would be a ratings and pay-per-view bonanza. The Irishman has proven his skill at 145 pounds, ruling the featherweight division with Jose Aldo as a concrete example.

Real opened the scoring in the 34th minute off the right foot of Ronaldo, as the star forward blasted his attempt from the spot into the bottom-left corner. We know what Borja can bring to the team.

"That, however, is more of a Play Station goal though", he concluded.

They would have fallen behind in the fifth minute had former Levante goalkeeper Keylor Navas not reacted superbly to keep out Giuseppe Rossi's snap shot.

Levante has 20 points, six less than Getafe, the first team outside relegation zone.

Valencia recorded a third win in their last four La Liga outings as they battled back from an early deficit to triumph 2-1 at Malaga. They head to Levante without a league win in their last 2 games, and will be hoping for an improvement this week.

Duje Cop gave the home side a 14th-minute lead, only for team-mate Carlos Kameni to gift Valencia an equaliser.