Real Madrid level late with Valencia after Courtois header leads to Benzema equaliser

Karim Benzema smashed the ball into the roof of the net in second-half stoppage time to give Real Madrid a 1-1 draw at Valencia in La Liga on Sunday.

Carlos Soler looked to have given the hosts the win with a clinical close-range finish late in the second half, but Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois's header from a corner kick forced a save and allowed Benzema to score.

"Courtois decided to come up for the corner and that shows that we always want more," said Real coach Zinedine Zidane.

"We deserved to get the draw because we made a huge effort in the game. This is Real Madrid, where you never give up. We kept believing we could score and in the end we did."

Real substitute Luka Jovic looked to have levelled in stoppage time but the effort was ruled out for offside.

The visitors, however, refused to cave in and Courtois came up to contest a corner in a last ditch effort to salvage a point.

The Belgian headed towards goal and forced opposite number Jaume Domenech to parry the ball away and Benzema was on hand to steer the ball home on the rebound.

The goal prevented Valencia from climbing up to sixth in the standings and they were instead left in eighth on 27 points.

"We came here looking for the three points but we were punished by Valencia's goal and this point tastes like very little," said Real captain Sergio Ramos.

"We were excellent in the first half and kept looking for a goal and created a lot of chances but we couldn't find one."

The result sees Real Madrid stay level with Barcelona atop the La Liga table after the Catalans drew 2-2 with Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Barcelona host Real Madrid on Wednesday in a Clasico after the originally scheduled match in October was postponed due to political protests in Catalonia.

Ramos added: "We were up against a side in great form and this point keeps us level with Barca and now we are focusing on the 'Clasico' and getting all three points there."