Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice as leaders Real Madrid subdued promoted Sociedad Deportiva Eibar 4-0 on Saturday to stay top in La Liga.
James Rodriguez nodded Real in front in the 23rd minute at Eibar’s tiny Estadio Municipal de Ipurua in the Basque country — which holds less than 6,000 spectators — and Ronaldo’s scuffed shot made it 2-0 just before the break.
Frenchman Karim Benzema cracked the third in the 69th and Ronaldo netted from the spot seven minutes from time as the European champions swept to their 14th victory in a row in all competitions.
Photo: Reuters
Top-flight debutants Eibar, whose entire squad is worth about as much as Ronaldo’s annual wage of 20 million euros (US$24.8 million), created several chances, but were outclassed by Real’s superstars.
The victory put the world’s richest club by income two points clear at the top of La Liga with 30 points from 12 matches, during which they have amassed 46 goals, 20 of them coming from Ronaldo in 11 appearances.
“A defeat will come of course, but our goal is to continue this run,” Real manager Carlo Ancelotti told a news conference. “The team is in good shape and all the players are motivated and doing fantastic work.”
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid climbed into third place behind Barcelona and above Valencia — who were to play at city rivals Levante UD yesterday — after midfielder Tiago scored one and created another for Diego Godin in a 3-1 win for the champions at home to Malaga.
Tiago nodded Koke’s corner powerfully into the net in the 13th minute at the Estadio Vicente Calderon and the lively Antoine Griezmann tapped home an Arda Turan center three minutes before halftime.
Roque Santa Cruz set nerves jangling when he pulled a goal back for sixth-placed Malaga just after the hour, but their chances were extinguished when forward Samuel picked up a second yellow card in the 73rd minute.
Atletico made sure of the points when Tiago hooked the ball to the back post for an unmarked Godin to head home six minutes from time, before captain Gabi picked up his second caution in the 88th.
Diego Simeone’s side, who won their first top-flight title in 18 years last season, have 26 points, two ahead of Valencia.
Also on Saturday, David Moyes was denied a win on his debut as coach of Real Sociedad when the Basque club shared a drab 0-0 draw at promoted Deportivo de la Coruna.
The result gave the former Manchester United and Everton manager an idea of the scale of the task that faces him at Sociedad. Moyes took the job on Nov. 10 and the stalemate at the Riazor in his first game in charge leaves Erreala down in 14th place with a mere 10 points from 12 matches.
On a dreary night in Galicia, both because of the rain and the poor quality of the match, Sociedad were fortunate not to lose as Depor, who also have 10 points in 15th place, pressed hard in the second half.
Complicating matters for Moyes is that he has only just started learning Spanish and mostly had to rely on an interpreter to communicate with his players.
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