Spanish La Liga
Result: Real Madrid 1-1 Villarreal
Date: 21 September 2016
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu
Real Madrid's winning start to the La Liga season came to an end, after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale returned to starting line-up alongside Karim Benzema, while James Rodriguez retained his spot in the line-up.
The hosts got off to a slow start and had to wait until the 19th minute for their first real opening, as Sergio Asenjo produced a fine save to keep out Benzema's header.
The likes of Ronaldo and Bale were quiet throughout the opening 45 minutes and struggled to get into the game.
Los Blancos were dealt a blow in the 44th minute when Marcelo had to be taken off with an injury. He was replaced by Dani Carvajal.
However, Villarreal were awarded a penalty on the stroke of halftime when Sergio Ramos handled in the box. Bruno stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, 1-0.
Ramos made up for his first -half error, as the defender headed home Rodriguez's corner after 48 minutes to level matters.
Bale squandered a golden chance to hand Real the lead after 66 minutes, as the Welshman latched onto a pass from Benzema, before firing wide of the post from close range.
Zidane opted for a double change for the final 20 minutes, as Lucas Vazquez and Alvaro Morata replaced Bale and Benzema.
Los Blancos pushed for a winning goal in the closing stages but were unable to carve out a clear-cut opening, as the Yellow Submarine claimed a valuable point.
