Ronaldo marks Ballon d’Or with two goals
madrid — Real Madrid sent a warning to Barcelona just two weeks ahead of El Clasico by storming back into form as Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in a 5-0 thrashing of Sevilla on Saturday.
Sevilla had started the afternoon on the same number of points as Madrid in joint fourth, but the sides looked worlds apart as Real scored all five goals before half-time to close to within five points of Barca at the top of the table.
Nacho got the hosts off to a perfect start before Ronaldo doubled his La Liga tally for the season with Getafe Real 0 Eibar 5 Sevilla 0 0 a cool finish and a penalty inside the half mark. Toni Kroos and Achraf Hakimi rounded off the rout as Real leapfrogged cross city rivals Atletico Madrid into third.
Barca can regain their eightpoint advantage over Real when they visit Villarreal on Sunday.
Real’s spirits were lifted even before kick-off as Ronaldo showed off his record-equalling fifth Ballon d’Or to an adoring Santiago Bernabeu. There had been concern in Madrid ranks all week at the European champions’ lack of defensive options with Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal and Casemiro all suspended and Raphael Varane injured.
However, it was Sevilla who looked like the side without a defence as they gifted the hosts the opener after just three minutes.
A harmless corner to the back post saw Sevilla duo Simon Kjaer and Luis Muriel get in each other’s way and present Nacho with a gift to fire home from pointblank range.
Ronaldo has just become the first player to score in all six games of a Champions League group, but there had been a stark contrast between his stunning European form and his lack of goals in La Liga.
On Saturday, Ronaldo struck twice. The Portuguese swept home Marco Asensio’s lovely through ball to double Madrid’s advantage.
Ronaldo’s penalty then had just enough power to beat Sergio Rico after Jesus Navas handled inside his own area. — Printed and Published by Galadari Printing & Publishing (LLC), P.O. Box 11243, Dubai. Telephone: 3383535/ 3384545. Telefax: 3382238/ 3383676. email: sports@khaleejtimes.com Internet Home Page: www.khaleejtimes.com