The Brazilian superstar made up for Juan Roman Riquelme's first-half penalty at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium by heading home in the 70th minute, although Real were immediately hit by the ejection of their Argentine defender Walter Samuel.

Salgado struck the winning goal in the 74th minute, and Real moved to within three points of league leaders FC Barcelona, who visits Malaga on Sunday.

Real's Zinedine Zidane and Villarreal defender Quique Alvarez were also sent off following an injury-time clash.

In Saturday's other game, Osasuna edged Atletico Real 1-0.

Villarreal dominated the opening half-hour although David Beckham then spurned the best chance when he drilled his shot just wide from a good position on the right in the 31st minute after Ronaldo's clever pass set him free.

A counterattack led to Villarreal's 39th-minute penalty when central defender Francisco Pavon was adjudged to have fouled striker Diego Forlan as he attempted a tackle just inside the area.

Argentina midfielder Riquelme, who is in his second season on loan from Barcelona, beat goalkeeper Iker Casillas by sending his shot into the roof of the net.

Samuel missed a golden opportunity in the 47th minute when he headed wide from an unmarked position, and Forlan squandered an equally good chance 11 minutes later by firing into the side scoring from a Riquelme pass.

Zidane created Real's game-tying goal when he dribbled the ball to the goal-line before floating a precise left-footed cross for Ronaldo to head in from the far goalpost. The goal was his 16th of the season and his fourth in the last three games.

Samuel then received his second yellow card for hitting striker Jose Mari Romero with his arm.

Yet Real soon took the lead when an opportunistic Ronaldo passed from the left and Salgado shot home from the edge of the area.

Ronaldo had tried to muscle his way inside the box only to lose his balance. But he reacted first to the loose clearance as he got to feet in a flash and put a precise pass in the path of Salgado to fire first time into the net.

Real's Portuguese midfielder Luis Figo appeared as a 75th-minute substitute after being left on the bench for the third successive game.

The game ended with Alvarez's wild attempted tackle on Real captain Raul Gonzalez near the corner flag, which brought an angry response from Zidane, leading to both players' ejection.

Osasuna's Australian striker John Aloisi headed home in the third minute from midfielder Ludovic Delporte's left cross to beat Atletico and settle a match which bore the same scoreline as the teams' Copa del Rey first-leg semifinal on Wednesday.

In the closing stages, Osasuna defender Carlos Cuellar was ejected for a second yellow card, as he had been in the game three days earlier.