Madrid made it four league wins on the trot with the 2-1 triumph, but they had to work hard for the victory and needed an injury-time strike from Van Nistelrooy to take the spoils at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.

The reigning champions had looked in control of the match at half-time as they led 1-0 thanks to a Gabriel Heinze goal, but things quickly soured for Madrid when, in the 53rd minute, they had Marcelo sent-off in an incident that also saw Betis equalise through Sergio Garcia.

The 10 men of Madrid refused to buckle though and, after Betis had lost their numerical advantage in the 83rd minute when Garcia was also dismissed, Bernd Schuster's troops would go on to take all three points thanks to Van Nistelrooy's last-minute effort.

"I like our mentality. We played well in the first half and we suffered with a player less in the second," said Van Nistelrooy, whose goal was his 60th for the club.

"We all gave a little more of ourselves when Betis were stronger.

"It was a difficult game and it was good to score in the last minute. Before the penalty we had been dominating clearly."

He added: "I'm very happy with my goalscoring form and I only hope to continue like that and help the team."