Real Madrid drops first points under Zidane

BARCELONA — Real Madrid dropped its first points under coach Zinedine Zidane in a 1-1 draw at Real Betis Sunday, while Atletico Madrid failed to regain the Spanish league lead from Barcelona after finishing goalless against 10-man Sevilla. Madrid could only muster a second-half goal by Karim Benzema to cancel out Alvaro Cejudo’s stunner, leaving it in third-place — four points behind the pace-setting pair. “We dropped two points, that is the negative part, but there were positive things too, and we have to think we can overcome this because the league is very long,” Zidane said. “We deserved much more from the game we played. We were unlucky.” Barcelona emerged as the big beneficiary of the weekend after Atletico’s stumble left it ahead on goal difference thanks to Saturday’s 2-1 win at Malaga. The title-holder will also have a game in hand after it hosts Atletico next weekend in a highly anticipated meeting between the last two league champions. Zidane had overseen two lopsided wins in the comfort of Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium since taking over from the much-maligned Rafa Benitez. But Madrid’s slip in Seville showed that it will take more than a change of coach to remedy its ills on the road, where it has now won just four of its 10 league games this season. Elsewhere, Alvaro Negredo’s stoppage-time header snatched Valencia a 1-1 draw at Deportivo La Coruna, after the host had dominated but failed to add to Lucas Perez’s first-half goal. Valencia coach Gary Neville remained winless after seven league games in charge. Aritz Aduriz also scored two goals to lead Athletic Bilbao’s 5-2 home win over Eibar in a Basque Country derby. Juventus edges Roma In Milan, Juventus closed in on another record as it beat Roma 1-0 in Serie A Sunday to keep the pressure on leader Napoli, which won 4-2 at 10-man Sampdoria. Paulo Dybala struck again to help Juventus secure an 11th successive league win and remain two points behind Napoli, while Inter Milan’s woes continued. Inter is now six points off the pace after a last-minute equalizer by 10-man Carpi held it to a 1-1 draw. Fiorentina is above Inter on goal difference after Josip Ilicic and Gonzalo Rodriguez secured a 2-0 win over Torino. Meier hits hat trick In Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt captain Alexander Meier scored in injury time to complete a hat trick and earn his side a 3-2 win over Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga Sunday. Werder Bremen captain Clemens Fritz inspired his side to a 3-1 comeback win at Schalke in the late game, giving the relegation-threatened side a huge boost and denying Schalke the chance to go fourth. — Agencies