Top of the table. Thirteen games still remain in this stirring 2009-2010 campaign but for now, Madrid control their own destiny.

A few weeks ago I wondered if Barcelona’s form would ever falter to even afford Los Blancos the opportunity to close the gap; however, that was before a string of injuries depleted the Catalan club’s strength. A subsequent drop in form has lead to some surprising upsets, and Barcelona have now relinquished their five-point lead of La Liga to the capital side club.

After fifty-two minutes it certainly did not seem as if Madrid were going to be able to take advantage of Barcelona’s 2-2 draw at Almeria. Xabi Alonso mistakenly knocked into his own net after only ten minutes. Only seven minutes into the second half, a bit of confusion between Iker Casillas and Alonso allowed a Ivica Dragutinovic set piece to sneak past Spain’s number one.

Sevilla may have lead for the first hour of the match; however, the game was still dominated by Real in both possession and opportunities. Controlling the ball for almost two thirds of the game and out shooting the Andalucian side 34-2, it was a combination of Andres Palop’s efficiency and poor finishing that kept the home side at bay in the first half.

Gonzalo Higuain, although not on the score sheet, played a crucial role in Madrid’s victory. Winning possession back for the home side, the Argentine international found Marcelo whose cross was put home by Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, halving the visitor’s advantage on sixty minutes. Less than four minutes later Pellegrini’s side would equalize.

Ramos, the author of the second Madrid goal, sent an injury time cross onto the head of Higuain, who hit the woodwork. Palop could only parry the ball to the feet of substitute Rafael Van der Vaart, who poked home the winner.

Sergio Ramos and Kaka celebrate the former's equalizer ©GettyImages

This is not a game Real would have won four or five months ago, not a chance, but the performance from Los Blancos on Saturday night is just another testament to the improvements this squad has made throughout the season.

True, there were a lot of new faces last August when the campaign started but it seems as if the capital city club has come together at just the right time. Down two goals to a strong club, who had defeated them earlier in the season, Real Madrid did not accept defeat; instead, they did something about it.

The performance and ability to over come adversity shown Saturday night is the exact mentality and quality needed if trophies are going to make their way to the Bernabeu this season.

Pellegrini’s men will have to carry the momentum from such an emotional win into Wednesday night’s second leg against Lyon where the French side are ahead 1-0 on aggregate. By no means an insurmountable disadvantage but Madrid will, nonetheless, need to overcome it if they wish to move to the quarter-final stage of the Champions League for the first time since 2003-2004.