Barcelona maintained their unbeaten start to the Primera Liga season, but were made to battle for a point in their draw with Valencia.

The home side had the better chances and Pablo Hernandez almost scored a spectacular winner when his effort from the halfway line had to be tipped over by Victor Valdes, who then brilliantly denied David Silva from close range.

Barca remain at the top of the table, but their lead has been cut to one point by Real Madrid.

Raul helped Madrid return to winning ways with a brace in a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Real Valladolid.

The veteran forward struck twice in the opening 18 minutes while Marcelo (45) and Gonzalo Higuain (79) were also on the scoresheet as Manuel Pellegrini's side bounced back from their 2-1 defeat at Sevilla to make it six wins in seven La Liga outings.

It was not a straightforward win for the title hopefuls though, and Valladolid might easily have netted more than the two goals they got through Nauzet Aleman (29) and Marquitos (53) but for some brilliant goalkeeping from Iker Casillas.

In today's other match, Deportivo La Coruna moved level on points with Sevilla following a surprise 1-0 win over Manolo Jimenez's side, courtesy of a stunning first-half strike from Juan Rodriguez.