Sergio Ramos equalizes for Real Madrid (Video)

After gifting Villarreal a penalty in the first half, Sergio Ramos made amends by scoring in the second.

Sergio Ramos is as good a goal-scoring center-back as they come, and he found the net again against Villarreal Wednesday. The goal was an especially important one with Real trailing, and Ramos will have been particularly relieved to score after conceding a penalty in the first half.

Ramos scored a header from a James Rodriguez corner in the 48th minute. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest goal of all time, but it will have come as a big relief to Ramos and his teammates.

Real dominated the first half, but struggled to create many clearcut chances. When Bruno Soriano opened the scoring with a penalty right at the end of the first half, Zinedine Zidane may have been fearing the worst. But his team have responded very well in the second half.

Almost the entire half so far has been played in Villarreal’s defensive third, and it looks like only a matter of time before Real take the lead. They have looked particularly dangerous from a series of corners, so don’t bet against Ramos getting another.

With a win today, Real would move on to 15 points from five games. They would also get to watch Barcelona’s match against Villarreal today knowing they will extend their lead in La Liga over one or both of their rivals. The two other giants of Spanish soccer face off at the Camp Nou at 4 p.m. ET. with both sides desperate to keep bace with Los Blancos.

Next: Bruno Soriano scores panenka (Video)

If Real can’t find a way to win this game, they may live to regret it in the coming weeks. The title race in La Liga has come down to a few points for the past several seasons, so there’s a lot on the line.