RONALDO’S 400

Sevilla fired their first warning shot when Stefan Jovetic smashed a shot against the post from the edge of the area.

However, moments later it was 2-0 as Sergio Rico could only palm James Rodriguez’s effort into the path of Cristiano Ronaldo to score his 400th Madrid goal.

Jovetic then saw a fine chipped effort come back off the bar and was denied by Keylor Navas when played through by Joaquin Correa as Sevilla continued to threaten.

And they finally got back in the game through Jovetic’s neat finish from outside the box three minutes into the second-half.

Yet, just as the hosts’ nerves were becoming frayed, Ronaldo appeared once more by crashing home Toni Kroos’s cut- back to restore Real’s two goal lead.

And Kroos rounded off the scoring himself by prodding into the far corner six minutes from time. Barcelona kept the pressure on despite a series of defensive absences that meant Brazilian 21-year-old Marlon Santos was handed a full debut in the Canary Islands. MADRID: Rafael Nadal’s flawless record on clay this season continued as he outgunned the impressive Dominic Thiem to win the Madrid Masters for a fifth time 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 on Sunday.

The Spaniard is now 15-0 on his favoured surface this year having also picked up his 10th titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in recent weeks.

And the 14-time Grand Slam champion is now strong favourite to add a 10th French Open crown next month as he romped to victory on home soil for the loss of just one set all week.

Victory also moves Nadal above Roger Federer to fourth in the world rankings.

“I am aware that if I am fit and I can play well, I have the capacity to win important titles and achieve my goals,” said Nadal.

Thiem also fell victim to Nadal’s supreme form in the final in Barcelona two weeks ago, but there was little for the 23-year-old to be dispirited about as he pushed Nadal all the way in his first Masters series final.

“Sometimes against the best players in the world, the best ever player on this surface, you even lose when you play well,” said Thiem, who also rises to a career high seventh in the rankings.

“Now that I did it once, playing really well in such a big tournament, the next step is to maintain this level next week.”

Nadal disposed of Novak Djokovic for his first win over the Serb for three years on Saturday and victory saw him level Djokovic’s record of 30 Masters Series titles.

Thiem didn’t finish his semi-final against Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas until after midnight on Sunday morning.

However, that lack of recovery time didn’t show as Thiem struck the first blow by breaking the Nadal serve to move into a 3-1 first set lead.

Thiem handed the break back by netting a simple volley for 3-3, but showed admirable resistance to battle back from 0-40 when serving to stay in the set a 4-5 to force a tie-break.

Both had their chances in the tie-break as Thiem again fought back from 3-5 down to have two set points of his own only to be denied by two punishing Nadal forehands.

And eventually it was Nadal who prevailed with his fifth set point when Thiem fired long.

“Anything could have happened at the end of the first set,” added Nadal.

“I think I played well in the important points at the end of the first set. I saved a few set points playing some good shots with my forehand and after that I went for it.” The marathon first set lasted a minute under an hour-and-a-half and seemed to drain Thiem’s belief as well as his energy resources as he was broken to start the second set.

Nadal had to stave off a break point on his own serve to consolidate the break for 2-0.

Four games without a point against the serve followed as Nadal closed in on victory.

Thiem again showed impressive poise to battle back from two match points down at 3-5 to force Nadal to serve out for the title. The Austrian had his chance too to get right back in the match with four break back points, but couldn’t take advantage as Nadal finally secured victory with his fourth match point. LONDON: Liverpool’s excellent 4-0 win at West Ham gives them a great chance of finishing in the top four. It came at a time when their season looked to be grinding to a halt.

Injuries were reducing Jurgen Klopp’s options while an inability to break down defensive sides was becoming a major obstacle.

Meanwhile, rivals Arsenal had found their best form and were winning their games in hand in style.

What happened on Sunday baffled many as it was assumed there was no Plan B at Liverpool, and the manager’s almost slavish devotion to his preferred system was constraining his team.

It’s easy to be cynical and claim change was forced upon the manager. Roberto Firmino was declared unfit before Sunday’s match and Daniel Sturridge had looked threatening as a substitute in the preceding game — a 0-0 bore draw with Southampton. The change was an obvious one.

Yet the solution to the dilemma was impressive. In recent weeks a midfield three of Emre Can, Lucas Leiva and Georginio Wijnaldum had looked to be all work rate and little creativity.

Pushing Philippe Coutinho back a little, the return of Adam Lallana plus two authentic strikers as opposed to three attacking midfielders suddenly gave the opposition a lot more to think about after weeks of the Reds looking pretty static. In the end, it turned out to be too much for Slaven Bilic’s side to handle. It certainly helped Klopp immensely when Coutinho had one of those games when a rumoured move to Barcelona seems inevitable rather than far-fetched. Indeed, there were several references before the match to him playing in the “Iniesta role”.

Consistency has always been the Brazilian’s flaw. Critics of West Ham’s defence bristled as Coutinho glided past numerous players to slot home Liverpool’s second and third goals, but that doesn’t give the goal-scorer enough credit. On a good day, he cannot be contained. The sudden emergence of a different way of playing and formation has given Klopp a great chance of emerging from this season with something to plant a flag for next term. Fans may well question why it took so long.