Selasa, 23 Januari 2018

Real Defies Crisis Talk as Barca Extends Lead

Real Madrid moved back into the top four of La Liga by thumping lowly Deportivo La Coruna 7-1 on Sunday, with Cristiano Ronaldo ending a miserable run of league form with a late double.
But Barcelona still extended its lead to 11 points - and 19 ahead of Real - as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both hit a brace in a 5-0 romp at Real Betis.
Ronaldo had only scored four league goals before Sunday's clash with third-from-bottom Deportivo, but the Portuguese added Real's fifth and sixth with a smart volley and a diving header as it moved back above Villarreal and into the Champions League places.
Villareal had temporarily taken fourth with a 2-1 win over Levante on Saturday after beating Real at the Bernabeu for the first time ever last week.
Gareth Bale and Nacho also bagged braces each side of halftime and Luka Modric curled home a 68th-minute beauty as Real came back from a shock early deficit, a 23rd-minute tap-in from Adrian, to romp to an emphatic victory and ease the pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane.
"We need that. In any case, it's what we were missing in the sense that scoring seven goals at home this season, it's hugely satisfying, and a relief," said Zidane.
The win leaves Real five points behind Valencia in third, after Marcelino's side had two players sent off in a shock 2-1 loss at lowly Las Palmas on Saturday.
Real had come into Sunday's match in crisis following some dismal performances that culminated in last week's defeat to Villarreal, and the mess seemed to have grown deeper when Adrian tapped home Lucas Perez's low cross.
However, the home side reacted immediately and by halftime was 2-1 up thanks to Nacho's neat first-time strike and a superb curling effort from Bale.
The floodgates opened in the second half, with Bale adding his second from a towering header and Luca Modric expertly whipping home Real's fourth.
Ronaldo met Casemiro's cross to make it five and then crashed home Lucas Vasquez's cross, taking a boot in the face from Fabian Schar in the process.
As Ronaldo was led off the pitch to have his bleeding head quickly patched up he asked to see the phone of one of Real's medical staff and, pointing the camera at himself, used it to check the damage to his face.
Nacho completed the rout in the dying minutes.
Second-placed Atletico Madrid's 1-1 draw with Girona on Saturday meant Barca extended its lead with victory, leaving coach Ernesto Valverde waxing lyrical about Messi.

Agence France-Presse
Madrid

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