A late double strike by Ronaldo [Images] gave Real Madrid [Images] a flattering 2-0 victory at Real Sociedad on Saturday that revived their hopes of depriving arch-rivals Barcelona of the title.

The forward grabbed his first when he raced on to an excellent through ball from substitute Guti, shimmied past goalkeeper Asier Riesgo and guided the ball into the empty net seven minutes from time.

Ronaldo then benefited from another great assist from the midfielder as the Brazilian back-heeled the ball across the line to snatch a second deep into injury time.

Real's sixth victory in a row left them just three points behind Barca, who host relegation-threatened Albacete on Sunday and are searching for their first trophy in six years. Real have four games left to play and Barca have five.

Earlier on Saturday, Valencia missed their chance to gain the edge in the race for a Champions League place with a 1-1 draw against relegation-bound Numancia.

Numancia looked to have earned a sixth win this season after striker Luis Tevenet drilled home 15 minutes from time but the Sorians were deprived of victory as Vicente, returning after a five-month injury lay-off, smashed home an 82nd-minute penalty.

The result pushed Antonio Lopez's side up into fourth place, but with all their immediate rivals yet to play they are likely to drop back down the table before the weekend is out.

Numancia will be relegated on Sunday if Levante earn a point in their league match at home to Malaga because Bernd Schuster's side have the better head-to-head record.

Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao saw their hopes of claiming a place in Europe fade as they fought out a 1-1 draw at the Calderon.

INTENSE PRESSURE

Sociedad, who had won their last five matches at Anoeta, put Real under intense pressure in the first half as they closed them down in midfield and made inroads on both flanks.

Russian midfielder Valery Karpin, who was at the heart of all the action, fired over the bar after 15 minutes.

He was then denied a goal when Real keeper Iker Casillas made a superb reaction save to block his fierce drive minutes later after a slick passing move from the Basques.

Real, missing the suspended Zinedine Zidane [Images], Walter Samuel and Michel Salgado, had to live off scraps of possession and their only first-half chance came when David Beckham [Images] let fly from 30 metres only to see his shot swerve past the far post.

Sociedad continued to dominate as they sprayed the ball around the midfield and Karpin again went close to giving the Basque side the lead when he slammed a spectacular volley against the bar just before the half hour mark.

Real finally created two great chances midway through the second half, Ronaldo having a shot blocked by Riesgo after racing on to a fine ball by Raul and the Sociedad keeper reacting well to stop Roberto Carlos's [Images] powerful follow-up.

But it was Guti's contribution that allowed Real to snatch the three points that kept them in the title race.

The Spaniard's through ball set up Ronaldo's first and he then capped a brilliant cameo performance by jinking his way into the area from the left and picking out the striker with a perfect pass.

Ronaldo fell over the ball at first but reacted sharply to back-heel it into the net to secure Real's first win at Anoeta in four seasons.

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