Jose Mourinho has celebrated his 100th game in charge of Real Madrid with a hard-earned 3-2 victory at Real Betis.
The home side took the lead in the 10th minute as Jorge Molina swept in after finding space in the Madrid defence.
Madrid were not behind for long as Gonzalo Higuain broke the offside trap to fire in.
Salvador Lopez came close to giving Betis a half-time lead when his free kick was tipped onto the bar by Iker Casillas.
The visitors finally went ahead five minutes after the break as Cristiano Ronaldo pounced in the area to poke the ball home.
However, Betis got themselves on level terms just minutes later when Jefferson Montero rifled the ball past Casillas following a loose ball from a corner.
Madrid were lucky not to have a penalty given against them after the hour when the ball appeared to strike Alvaro Arbeloa on the arm.
Mourinho's side took the lead for the second time in the game with 20 minutes to play thanks to Ronaldo's left-foot volley from close range.
The win has put Los Blancos 13 points clear of Barcelona as they look for their first Primera Division title in four years.
Barca can cut the gap back to 10 points when they travel to Racing Santander tomorrow (Sunday).
Jack Prescott
