Madrid beats Villarreal 1-0 in Spain

Raul Gonzalez and Madrid trail leader Barcelona by 12 points. AP

MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Arjen Robben scored a spectacular goal Sunday to help Real Madrid beat Villarreal 1-0 in the Spanish league and keep the defending champions improving under coach Juande Ramos.

Robben cut in from the touchline and evaded three Villarreal players as he darted across the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium before sending a curling shot past Villarreal goalkeeper Diego Lopez from the edge of the penalty area in the 32nd minute.

Madrid, which saw Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Lassana Diarra make their team debuts, has won three of its four games in all competitions since Ramos replaced the fired Bernd Schuster last month.

Madrid's win in its first encounter of 2009 gave it 32 points from 17 games, 12 less than leader Barcelona.

Villarreal, which remains without a win at Madrid's stadium, stayed with 29 points after managing only one victory in its past seven league games.

Also Sunday, it was: Almeria 1, Real Betis 0; Valladolid 0, Racing Santander 1; Athletic Bilbao 1, Espanyol 1; Recreativo Huelva 3, Numancia 1; and Malaga 1, Sporting Gijon 0.

Later, Sevilla hosted Osasuna and Getafe entertained Deportivo La Coruna. On Saturday, Barcelona beat Mallorca 3-1, and Valencia defeated Atletico Madrid 3-1.

Huntelaar joined Madrid from Ajax last month as a replacement for Ruud van Nistelrooy, who will miss the rest of the season after surgery. Diarra then arrived from Portsmouth to compensate for the loss of Mahamadou Diarra, also sidelined for the season.

Huntelaar wasted a good chance to score his first Madrid goal in the 40th with Lopez diving to smother his shot from close-range.

Diarra nearly spoiled an effective debut when his misplaced pass almost allowed Villarreal to equalize in the 53rd but Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas saved substitute Joseba Llorente's goal-bound shot.

Huntelaar, who has yet to gain full fitness following a recent ankle injury, was replaced by Royston Drenthe in the 56th. Diarra made way for Rafael van der Vaart in the 79th.

Almeria coach Hugo Sanchez, formerly in charge of Mexico, enjoyed a successful debut as he led the lowly team to its first win in six games over Betis. Miguel Angel "Corona'' Garcia scored the game's only goal in the 36th.

Almeria substitute Kalu Uche was ejected for elbowing in the closing stages, while Betis substitute Sergio Garcia followed him in injury time for a hard tackle.

Nikola Zigic made a successful start to his second spell with Santander by scoring his team's winning goal at Valladolid.

The towering Serbia striker, who has joined on loan from Valencia, squeezed the ball home in the 65th and also had another goal disallowed for offside 20 minutes earlier.

Espanyol remains winless in eight games after a draw at Bilbao.

Moises Hurtado gave the visitors' hope of victory with a goal in the 38th, only for Andoni Iraola to equalize in the 82nd.

Numancia missed two penalties in its defeat at fellow struggler Recreativo Huelva in the teams' first ever meeting in the top flight.

Jose Javier Barkero and Gorka Brit saw their shots saved by Recreativo goalkeeper Asier Riesgo in the 16th and 53rd minutes, respectively.

Recreativo scored through Javi Fuego in the 18th, Javier Camunas in the 46th and Aitor Tornavaca on the hour. Brit scored Numancia's consolation goal in injury time.

Malaga defender Lolo Ortiz's 34th-minute header brought his team victory over Gijon.

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