Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 5-1 on Saturday to restore their six-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga and then staged a media blackout.
Two goals each from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, and one from Gonzalo Higuain, gave the home team a comfortable victory with Xavi Prieto grabbing a consolation for the team from San Sebastian.
Ronaldo’s brace put him level with Lionel Messi on 35 league goals after the Argentine and Gerard Pique scored earlier in Barcelona’s 2-0 win at RCD Mallorca, the champions’ seventh successive league win.
Photo: Reuters
The result will come as a relief to Jose Mourinho’s Real, who had dropped four points in two 1-1 draws with Malaga and Villarreal, scorelines which had helped Barcelona eat into a lead that stood at an imposing 10 points a week ago.
Afterward, neither Mourinho, his backroom staff nor any player spoke to the press in response to what the club considers to be unfair treatment by the referee in Wednesday’s draw with Villarreal where they had two players sent off.
Mourinho was also red-carded in that game and was forced to watch Saturday’s game from the stands.
Madrid showed no sign of nerves and with an attacking side, employing all their firepower, were clinical in front of goal.
It took the leaders only five minutes to go ahead when Higuain neatly struck home a first time pass from Benzema.
In the 25th minute, Ronaldo finished after Kaka had put the Portuguese star clear with a defense-splitting pass.
Five minutes before the break, a long, raking pass out of defense from Xabi Alonso was perfectly controlled by Benzema, before he chipped the oncoming Claudio Bravo in the Sociedad goal for Madrid’s third.
Prieto got one back just before the break, but within three minutes of the restart Madrid were back in control when Benzema struck his second of the night.
In the 55th minute, Ronaldo got the fifth when he arrived at the far post to finish a left-wing cross from Kaka.
Barcelona had to play out the final 34 minutes a man down after Thiago Alcantara was red-carded, but they still did enough to make it seven successive victories in the league.
Third-placed Valencia lost 3-1 at Getafe to increase the pressure on coach Unai Emery.
Spain forward Roberto Soldado opened the scoring on five minutes for the visitors, but first-half goals from Pedro Rios, Miku and a Bruno Saltor own goal were enough for Getafe to move into ninth place.
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