Beckham may yet go out with a bang

Far from joining LA Galaxy early, David Beckham is set to become an integral part of the Real Madrid side for the final six months of his contract at the Bernabeu. The former England captain made a goalscoring return to the Madrid side on Saturday after six matches out, a month after the coach, Fabio Capello, had vowed that he would never play for the club again.

It was classic Beckham. At the height of his ostracism, Capello had angrily insisted that the Englishman was not even that good at free-kicks. But Beckham made a mockery of those words against Real Sociedad, equalising with a first-half free-kick.

Ruud van Nistelrooy then headed the winner to secure a vital 2-1 victory that keeps Capello in a job. Beckham's strike was, said Capello, "an important goal" and the Englishman's return to the side will not be fleeting. Capello said: "If I have picked Beckham now, it is because I am counting on him for the rest of the season."

Barcelona forward Ronaldinho recaptured his form yesterday when he struck twice to lead his side to a 2-0 win at home to Racing Santander that put them three points clear at the top of the Primera Liga.

The Brazilian, who has been criticised for his poor showings in recent games, opened the scoring with a magnificent free-kick six minutes after half-time and took his tally for the season to 15 goals when he netted with a fine header 16 minutes later.

Racing held their own in the opening exchanges at Camp Nou, however, and were awarded a penalty after Juliano Belletti leant on Juanjo in the area in the 25th minute. Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes had to produce a good save to deny Argentinian spot kick specialist Ezequiel Garay.

Despite Ronaldinho's goals, the biggest cheer of the match was reserved for Argentinian teenager Lionel Messi, who came on as a second-half substitute after over three months out with a broken bone in his left foot.

Barcelona lead the standings on 46 points from 22 games, three clear of Sevilla, who were held 0-0 by city rivals Real Betis on Saturday, and five ahead of Real Madrid.

Republic of Ireland full back Ian Harte did not play in Levante's 2-1 win over Recreativo Huelva, a result that took the Valencia-based side out of the relegation zone.