Real Madrid dropped their first points for the season as they were held 1-1 at home by Villarreal.

Sunday's victory over Espanyol made it 16 league wins in a row for Los Blancos stretching back to March, equalling the all-time mark set by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona in the 2010-11 season.

But Zinedine Zidane's men were unable to secure the record outright as they fell behind to a Bruno Soriano penalty given for a Sergio Ramos handball on the stroke of half-time.

Ramos levelled three minutes into the second period with a towering header and Real dominated after a hesitant first 45 minutes, but could not find a second goal.

Zidane remarked: “We lacked intensity in the first half. We like to start games strongly but we didn't manage to do that in the first half. We can't always play at our best and be at 100% from the first minute. These things can happen and so it proved in the first half. Then, when you're down, it's difficult to get back into it. I'll take away our second half and the effort from everyone. We're in great shape physically.

“Individual mistakes happen in football, but it was more to do with the overall performance of the team in the first half. We started complacently. Then the second half was fantastic from everyone. We can't take the three points in the final minutes all the time. In the second half we had chances to score. I can't blame my players for anything, I'm happy with all they're doing. We're not going to talk about the record anymore. We have to rest up and get ready for the next match."