Of greater concern to the capital side was the early departure of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo who was forced to leave the match in the ninth minute due to pain felt in his hamstring.
As noted days ago by head coach Carlo Ancelotti, Iker Casillas started in goal for the first time in a league match this season and had a back four of Nacho, Pepe, Sergio Ramos and Fabio Coentrão. In midfield it was the usual trio of Xabi Alonso, Luka Modric and Ángel di María while in attack Isco replaced the injured Gareth Bale and joined Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in attack.
With Valladolid embroiled in the relegation battle, Real were up against a very hungry opponent at the outset and the home crowd nearly had a goal to cheer in just the fifth minute of play when Javi Guerra had a free header deep in the Real area but the effort sailed wide of Casillas' net.
But an even more stunning developed four minutes later and it had nothing to do with a Valladolid goal as Ronaldo was substituted off. Youngster Álvaro Morata replaced the Portuguese who looked visibly frustrated upon taking a seat on the bench. Ronaldo had barely touched the ball in his short time on the pitch, but there was nothing to suggest that he had sustained an injury.
It was later revealed that Ancelotti pulled his superstar as a precautionary measure after Ronaldo had complained of pain in his hamstring.
With both Ronaldo and Bale missing, Real struggled to form an attack but still managed to find the opener and it came from the suddenly red-hot Ramos.
However, unlike his goals last week against Bayern Munich and Valencia which came via headers, this time Ramos curled in a free kick in the 35th minute that Valladolid goalkeeper Jaime failed to bat away to give the proud new papa his fifth goal in four matches.
Real took the one-goal advantage into the second half but still continued to lack the energy and drive to threaten the Valladolid defense. Meanwhile, the Pucela started pressing for the equalizer by sending numbers forward in hopes of at least earning a point out of the match in their push for safety. Guerra nearly got it done in the 66th minute in spectacular fashion, but his attempted overhead kick off a Jeffren cross went inches wide of the post, much to the chagrin of Valladolid boss Juan Ignacio Martínez.
Yet Valladolid kept insisting and just five minutes from time they astonished Ancelotti's men by tallying the equalizer. A corner kick was played in and substitute Osorio's well-hit header spun past Casillas and into the net setting off a wild celebration in the stands.
Moments later, Valladolid then had a golden opportunity to take the lead with a three-on-one break on the counter, but Zakara Bergdich's intended pass for Guerra went straight to Pepe who cleared the ball from danger.
A Real goal was not to be had as the visitors trudged off the pitch with their heads down knowing that a league title would have to wait until at least next season.
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