Ayoze Diaz and Felipe Melo scored first-half goals yesterday and Racing Santander beat Real Madrid 2-1, sending the Spanish powerhouse to their sixth loss of the season and fourth at home.

Ronaldo's ninth goal of the season in the second half at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium couldn't save Madrid in their final game of the year.

"We had a lot of chances today but things are not going well for us at home," Ronaldo told Spanish national radio. "We need to keep quiet, train hard and work hard so that when we return from our vacations we can do better."

The loss dropped Madrid to fifth place, 11 points behind league leaders Barcelona after 17 games.

Real Madrid's loss came two days after they announced that caretaker coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, who replaced fired Vanderlei Luxemburgo on 4 December, would remain in charge until the end of the season.

Lopez Caro is Madrid's fifth coach in 2 1/2 years during which the team hasn't won a major trophy.

In other 17th-round games Wednesday, Villarreal drew 0-0 at Malaga, while Deportivo La Coruna lost 2-1 against visiting Espanyol.

Also, it was: Getafe 1, Sevilla 0; Real Sociedad 2, Cadiz 0; Zaragoza 3, Athletic Bilbao 2; and Real Betis 3, Alaves 0. Osasuna host Atletico Madrid today.