The Welshman equalised following Cani's opener and,
though the Blancos' No.7 gave the visitors the side, Giovani dos Santos saved
the day for the hosts.
Gareth Bale's debut was ruined by an admirable Villarreal
performance as the newly promoted hosts held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw.
The Welshman made his first competitive start for the
club since his world-record move from Tottenham and he began repaying his huge fee
by cancelling out Cani's opener at El Madrigal just before half-time.
Cristiano Ronaldo refused to be overshadowed as he put
Madrid ahead with a breakaway goal after 64 minutes, but their lead was
short-lived as Giovani dos Santos equalised just nine minutes later.
Carlo Ancelotti opted to start Bale on the right, with
Isco in the centre and Ronaldo on the left behind lone striker Karim Benzema as
midfielder Asier Illarramendi also made his first start for the Blancos.
Villarreal made just one change to the side that beat
Osasuna 3-0 in their last La Liga fixture, with Dos Santos replacing Jeremy
Perbet.
Despite the wealth of talent in Real's ranks, it was the
home side who made the more positive opening and twice in the opening 15
minutes Jonathan Pereira was denied at the near post by Diego Lopez, but they
got the breakthrough deservedly in the 21st minute.
Real failed to clear their lines with Pereira and Bruno
Soriano both looking to pounce, but the ball spilled kindly to Cani, who
smashed home into the bottom corner.
It could have been even worse just short of the half-hour
mark when the influential Pereira played a sublime backheel to Javier Aquino,
whose initial shot was saved by Lopez before the goalkeeper stopped the
rebound.
Real were reeling but they should have been level on 34
minutes when Sergio Ramos chipped a superb pass over the top for Ronaldo, but
he uncharacteristically steered his header wide.
Against the run of play, Real did get the equaliser, when
Bale opened his account for his new club. Daniel Carvajal broke down the right
before putting in a teasing low cross and the Welshman nipped in ahead of Mario
and slid to poke home with his right foot from close range.
Villarreal had shouts for a penalty shortly after the
restart when a Dos Santos effort struck Bale on the arm before Bale nearly
irked the home fans further when his 25-yard drive went narrowly over the
crossbar.
And the home side should have been back in front in the
54th minute. Dos Santos backheeled smartly to Pereira and his centre found
Jaume Costa unmarked, but from eight yards he somehow side-footed wide.
Bale soon departed, withdrawn by Ancelotti, but that was
the signal for Ronaldo to take over as he punished the hosts in the 64th
minute.
He broke from his own half and laid the ball into the
path of Benzema, whose initial shot was parried back to Ronaldo to fire a
deflected effort that put Real ahead.
However, the lead lasted less than 10 minutes before
Lopez parried Cani's shot into the path of Dos Santos, who drilled home the
equaliser.
Villarreal pushed forward for a winner in the closing
stages and Cani was denied a second when Lopez produced an outstanding save to
stop his rasping drive.
At the other end, Ronaldo almost got the winner for Real
in the 87th minute, but his fierce 20-yard effort was parried to safety by
Sergio Asenjo.
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