The Brazilian drilled home from 10 metres after pouncing on a loose ball in the area a minute into stoppage time to score his first Primera Liga goal in seven games and cancel out a second-half strike from Argentine forward Diego Milito.

It was Real's first goal in four games in all competitions but did not stop them dropping to third place, a point behind Osasuna who had earlier notched up their third win in a row with a 2-0 victory at home to struggling Real Sociedad.

"I scored again and it will allow me to be a little more relaxed in the forthcoming matches," Ronaldo told Canal Plus television.

"We fought to the end. The team is showing its character. We are fighting despite all the bad luck at the moment surrounding us. We must keep it going like this."

Valencia slipped to fourth spot after being held to a 1-1 draw by regional rivals Villarreal, who could have snatched the win had Santiago Canizares not saved a late penalty from Juan Roman Riquelme.

Osasuna gained the edge in the race for runners-up spot behind Barca after a stunning sixth-minute volley from midfielder Inaki Munoz and a late penalty from Patxi Punal.

Sociedad's defeat saw them slip into the relegation zone two points adrift of Real Betis, Alaves and Athletic Bilbao.

Betis got a vital 1-0 home win over Racing Santander, Bilbao scraped a last-gasp draw against visiting Espanyol and Alaves sneaked a late 1-0 victory at home to high-flying Celta Vigo.

Real Madrid coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro recalled Ronaldo and David Beckham to the starting line-up as his side went in search of their first goal in three league games.

But it was Zaragoza who enjoyed the better of the first half with strike pair Milito and Ewerthon causing constant problems for the Real back four with their darting runs into the area.

Milito, who scored four goals against Real when Zaragoza crushed them 6-1 in the King's Cup last month, was denied a goal by a sharp block from Iker Casillas late in the first half but the Argentine made no mistake at the start of the second.

He got between the Real keeper and centre-back Alvaro Mejia to steer into the empty net after Ewerthon had steamed down the right flank and squared the ball into the area.

Beckham almost levelled with a well struck free-kick in the dying minutes and had a hand in Ronaldo's injury-time equaliser.

Cesar failed to gather when he lofted the ball into the area and the Brazilian was on hand to rifle home and earn his side a barely deserved draw.