BARCELONA, Spain (AP):

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo duelled each other to an entertaining stalemate yesterday, with both superstars scoring twice as Barcelona drew 2-2 with Real Madrid to keep an eight-point lead over their archrivals in tact.

The result ended Barcelona's perfect start to the league campaign as they dropped points for the first time in seven games, but provided yet another memorable chapter in the rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo, the two biggest names in the sport.

Ronaldo put Madrid ahead at Camp Nou stadium in the 23rd from a pass by Karim Benzema to extend his scoring streak in 'clasico' matches to six.

Second goal

Then it was Messi's turn, as he took advantage of a defensive slip to level for Barcelona in the 31st, before adding a second goal in the 61st with a perfect free kick from almost 25 yards out.

But as Barcelona looked to seal the result, Mesut Oezil unlocked Barcelona's makeshift defensive line to set up Ronaldo to respond five minutes later and split the points.

It was, perhaps, a fitting end to the latest head-to-head duel between arguably the two best players in the world, who for the last two seasons have engaged in a two-way scoring race unlike anything the Spanish league has seen before. Messi and Ronaldo are the leading candidates for the World Player of the Year Award and both showed they more than deserved it with standout performances yesterday.

Also yesterday, Levante beat Valencia 1-0 thanks to Obafemi Martins' first-half goal, Granada downed Mallorca 2-1 for their first home loss and Athletic Bilbao edged out Osasuna 1-0.