BARCELONA (AFP) - Veteran striker Raul Gonzalez scored twice but Real Madrid still lost ground in the Spanish title race after they were held at home 2-2 by Espanyol on Sunday. A below par Madrid went behind from the penalty spot after 21 minutes with Raul Tamudo firing home after he was felled by Gabriel Heinze. Raul, returning to the side after being rested for the Champions League clash against Zenit St. Petersburg, appeared the only Real player with the necessary desire and he equalised with a header four minutes later. On the half-hour, Luis Garcia restored Espanyol's advantage, scoring from close range after good build up play from Roman Martinez, Tamudo and Ivan de la Pena. But then Raul was on hand to bring Real back level at the end of the first half. There were chances for both sides after the break notably for Luis Garcia and Nene for Espanyol, while Real's Ruud van Nistelrooy also had a shot saved well by keeper Carlos Kameni. The result brought Real's six match winning streak to an end and left them in fifth place, three points behind leaders Valencia who beat Valladolid 1-0. A Manuel Fernandes strike proved enough for a lethargic Valencia to beat reclaim top spot. They started slowly with the much-vaunted threat from Juan Mata, David Villa and Joaquin Sanchez failing to fire and instead it was Valladolid who caused most danger through Pedro Leon and Jonathan Sesma. But Fernandes scored the only goal of the game when he fired a powerful shot from the edge of the area after 54 minutes to put Valencia in pole position with 16 points."It was a very even game but I think that the result was fair in the end. There were openings for both sides but not very clear chances," said Valencia coach Unai Emery."With the score at 1-0 we were more in control and we had several opportunities on the break when we could have killed the game off." Villarreal also have 16 points after a 2-1 win on Saturday against rock-bottom Real Betis but are in second spot on goal difference. Earlier Sunday, Sevilla bolstered their Champions League hopes for next season with a 4-0 mauling of Athletic Bilbao to move into third place on 14 points. The home side never allowed tiredness from their midweek UEFA Cup efforts effect them as they went ahead after 26 minutes through Frederic Kanoute and then five minutes before the interval Renato Santos doubled their advantage. The best goal of the game came after 75 minutes in a well-worked counter-attack with Adriano Correia providing the finishing touch. Substitute Ernesto Chevanton wrapped up the game with ten minutes to go. "It's going well but it's still early days. We maintained a good rhythm and that is what we need to continue doing until the end of the season but it will be long and hard," said Manolo Jimenez, who has set a record by becoming the first Sevilla coach to string together eleven matches without defeat. Barcelona are in fourth spot on 13 points after their 6-1 thrashing of Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Sporting Gijon moved off the bottom with a surprise 2-0 victory over Real Mallorca with goals from Carmelo Gonzalez and Roberto Canella. Pierre Webo added to Mallorca's woes when he missed a penalty. Malaga made easy work of struggling Recreativo Huelva, beating their Andalusian neighbours 4-0. Eliseu Pereira dos Santos scored the first of his brace in the opening minute and then goals either side of the interval from Nabil Baha and Duda Valente firmly placed Malaga in the driving seat. They finished off the scoring just after the hour mark with Eliseu's second. Racing Santander scored in the second minute of injury time at Osasuna to claim an important 1-0 victory with Juan Varela grabbing the winner. Almeria came from two goals down to claim a point in a 2-2 draw away to Getafe. Ikechukwu Uche and Francisco Casquero appeared to have secured the win before Almeria hit back in the final minutes through Alvaro Negredo and Jose Chico. An early goal from Angel Lafita after 13 minutes was enough for Deportivo la Coruna to beat Numancia and end their run of a month without a win.