Real Madrid wagering had to settle for a 0-0 draw at Valencia in the Spanish Primera Liga after substitute Ronaldo spurned a golden opportunity to give his side victory when he missed a last-minute penalty.

The Brazilian, who was dropped to the bench by Real coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, earned the spot-kick after he was fouled by Santiago Canizares but the Valencia goalkeeper atoned for his error when he saved Ronaldo´s low shot on Saturday.

Things aren´t going well at the moment but I can only get out of this situation with enthusiasm and hard work,´´ the striker said after the game.

Barcelona on top

The draw played into the hands of leader Barcelona, which has a nine-point lead at the top with a tie in hand.

Barca tops the table on 61 points, Valencia and Real have 52 and Osasuna is six further back with 46.

Earlier, Celta Vigo missed its chance to move into the Champions League places when it lost 2-0 at 10-man Espanyol.

The defeat meant the Galicians, who had won four of their last five games, remain fifth a point behind Osasuna.

Real Sociedad eased its relegation worries by taking its first points in five games with a 1-0 win at Deportivo Coruna.

Sociedad is now five points clear of the relegation zone.

Surprise decision

Real coach Lopez Caro made the surprise decision to leave Ronaldo on the bench after his failure to find the net as Real slipped out of the Champions League in the first knockout round on Wednesday following a goalless draw against Arsenal at Highbury.

He also left out forwards Antonio C***ano and Robinho, choosing instead to play Raul and Julio Baptista up front.

But the changes failed to add more spark to the Real attack and scoring chances were scarce in the first half as the sides battled hard in midfield and got plenty of men behind the ball.

The first clear opportunity did not come until just before the break when Valencia striker David Villa had a goal-bound free kick tipped over the bar by Iker Casillas.

Valencia continued its pressing game in midfield in the second half and although Real had more possession it had problems getting near the opposition area.

Ronaldo substituted Raul just after the hour, although it was his strike partner Baptista who almost opened the scoring a few minutes later.

The Brazilian looked certain to find the net when he got his head to a Zinedine Zidane cross but Canizares produced a great reflex save to scoop the ball off the line.

C***ano and Robinho added new life to the Real front line when they too were thrown into the mix in the final 15 minutes.

The Italian had a hand in winning the penalty when he exchanged a neat one-two with Ronaldo a minute from time.

The Brazilian was felled by Canizares as he burst towards goal but was then denied his 11th goal of the season when the Valencia custodian went the right way to save his spot kick.

Chelsea pips Tottenham

William Gallas scored in the last minute to give league-leading Chelsea a 2-1 win over Tottenham, which moved the Blues 18 points clear atop the English Premier League on Saturday.

The French defender cut in from the left and beat goalkeeper Paul Robinson with a rising 25-yard shot. Michael Essien scored his first goal for Chelsea before Jermaine Jenas made it 1-1 a minute before halftime.

The Blues are unbeaten in their last 32 league games against Tottenham. Spurs´ last league win over Chelsea was in 1990.

The victory helped Chelsea erase the memory of Wednesday´s ouster from the Champions League by Barcelona.

``It was important to win that game,´´ Gallas said. ``At Barcelona we were very sad and now we think only about the Premiership.´´

Captain John Terry agreed, ``From a bad week we are now buzzing, the double is still on and we´ve got a great chance.´´

Chelsea has 75 points. Manchester United, which has played two games fewer, has 57. Next is Liverpool with 55, followed by Tottenham with 49, Blackburn 46, Bolton 45 and Arsenal with 44.

At the bottom, four clubs look vulnerable to relegation. Sunderland is last with 10 points, topped by Portsmouth (21), Birmingham (24) and West Brom (27).

Birmingham went ahead against West Brom in the 49th minute when Curtis Davies pulled down Mikael Forssell inside the area, and the Finland striker converted the penalty.

Albion manager Bryan Robson sent on strikers Nwankwo Kanu and Nathan Ellington and the switch brought an equaliser in the 70th minute. Kanu switched the ball back to his strike partner, who scored with a low shot.

West Brom almost grabbed all three points when Ellington charged clear in injury time but his shot struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced clear.