Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain each scored twice as Real Madrid beat Getafe 4-2 to return to the top of the Spanish league on Thursday.
With Barcelona on 71 points after its 2-0 win against Osasuna on Wednesday, Madrid needed a win to go top on goal difference and it delivered a stunning first-half performance.
Ronaldo put Madrid ahead by curling a free kick into the top right-hand corner in the 13th minute from the edge of the area.
PHOTO: AFP
In the 20th, Higuain ran on to Rafael Van der Vaart’s pass and fired a low shot past Ustari. Three minutes later, the Argentina striker received Fernando Gago’s long through pass and rounded Ustari for his 22nd league goal of the season.
Ronaldo scored the goal of the game and his 17th of the season in the 37th, dribbling down the right and blasting the ball into the far corner from a tight angle.
Getafe’s Daniel Parejo responded a minute later by sweeping the ball in after goalkeeper Iker Casillas had run out of the area to clear. An enraged Casillas said he was injured by a Getafe player just before the goal, although he remained on the field for the full 90 minutes.
“That goal seemed very disloyal to me,” said coach Manuel Pellegrini of former Madrid youth team player Parejo. “I hope my team wouldn’t do the same. Casillas took a knock to his ankle that has to be looked at.”
Pedro Leon cut the deficit further in the 79th when the ball rebounded off a defender to his feet and he tapped home.
Also, Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0.
Atletico climbs to eighth on 37 points and Bilbao is sixth on 42 points.
Real Madrid pressured from the start in wet conditions and looked determined to improve on its record of one win in five visits to Getafe’s Alfonso Perez Stadium.
Xabi Alonso was particularly effective in midfield and Ustari only just managed to stop his low shot in the seventh.
Ronaldo nearly scored when he cut in from the left and fired a right-footed shot that Ustari pushed over the bar.
The Getafe keeper was tested again when Sergio Ramos charged in to meet a cross with his head.
Getafe coach Jose Miguel “Michel” Gonzalez, a member of the great Real Madrid team of the 1980s, replaced Parejo and Jaime Gavilan with Fabio Celestini and Manuel del Moral at halftime.
Higuain nearly scored his hat trick shortly after the break when he chipped past a defender and just failed to beat Ustari to the ball.
However, with Madrid pressuring less in the second half, Getafe started to create chances. Nicolas “Miku” Ladislao fired over in the 59th and Leon shot wide a minute later, before drawing a save from Casillas with a long-range effort.
Raul Gonzalez came on for Van der Vaart in the 67th and Jose Maria “Guti” Gutierrez replaced Higuain 10 minutes from the end.
Coach Michel’s frustration showed when he was sent off from the dugout in injury time for dissent.
At Atletico’s Calderon Stadium, Diego Forlan scored his 11th goal against Bilbao when he struck Juan Valera’s low cross first time in the 53rd against the run of play.
Sergio Aguero made it 2-0 when he stopped the ball dead inside the area and coolly shot past goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz in the 86th.
Bilbao dominated early on with Aguero and Forlan struggling to link with the midfield.
Fernando Llorente came close twice for the visitors, drawing a fine save from David de Gea and then striking the crossbar.
Jose Manuel Jurado responded with a rare chance for Atletico by shooting high.
With the one-goal advantage, Atletico started to attack more often. Aguero nearly found Forlan at the far post with a perfectly placed chip but defender Andoni Iraola intercepted the ball. Iraizoz then tipped Aguero’s powerful header over the bar.
Iker Muniain came on for Igor Gabilondo in the 74th as Bilbao pushed for the equalizer.
Atletico bolstered its defense with Ignacio Camacho replacing Forlan before Eduardo Salvio came on for Jose Antonio Reyes.
In other games this week, it was: Sporting Gijon 2, Deportivo La Coruna 1; Sevilla 1, Xerez 1; Almeria 1, Zaragoza 0; Tenerife 2, Villarreal 2; Valladolid 0, Espanyol 0; Racing Santander 0, Mallorca 0; and Valencia 1, Malaga 0.
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