Real's come-from-behind victory moves them to just three points behind their bitter rivals, although the Catalans have a game in hand and play at Malaga late on Sunday, as well as the advantage in their head-to-head encounters.

Goals by Ronaldo and Michel Salgado after 70 and 74 minutes earned Real their fifth consecutive victory after they had fallen behind to a controversial Juan Roman Riquelme penalty late in the first half.

"This victory belongs to the players. They put their hearts in their boots. They stood up to be counted," said Real's Brazilian coach Wanderley Luxemburgo in the early hours of Sunday.

Luxemburgo has quickly developed a reputation almost as notorious as one of his predecessors John Toshack for mangling a cliche or a popular phrase, but everyone who saw the game knew what he meant.

"Whether the result was fair or not, I can't say. Sometimes football is like that.

"The early penalty changed the game. I am not going to crucify the referee on this issue. Football is about passion and when you calm down maybe you regret some of the things you have done.

"We know that winning the championship is out of our hands but we are going to fight all the way.

"What has really pleased me in recent weeks is the way the squad has responded after a bad spell. We have guaranteed second place and that's fine," added the former Brazil boss.

Luxemburgo was lenient on the referee Bernadino Gonzalez Vasquez, who gave Villarreal a penalty after an apparent dive by Diego Forlan, but Ronaldo was less forgiving on Sunday.

"The referee was lamentable. We won with everything stacked against us," said the three-times former World Player of the Year, who has now got four goals in his last three games.

"Now we can only hope that Malaga help us out against Barca. I've put a bet on that it will be a draw," added Ronaldo.

Ronaldo's exploits on Saturday, where he first scored and then the winner for Salgado must have pleased Real Madrid's technical director Arrgio Sacchi who went on record on Thursday by hailing Ronaldo as second only to the great Diego Armando Maradona.

"I've been a Ronaldo fan from the first moment I saw him play. When he suffered that terrible injury during his Inter days I was very sad because the game of football lost an extraordinary player," said Sacchi.

"After Maradona, he's the best player I have ever seen and I believe he still hasn't expressed his full potential," added Sacchi.

Ronaldo has scored four times in his last three games and is Real's top marksman with 16 goals.