Real Madrid Debunks Crisis Talk as Barcelona Stretches Lead By 11 Points
But Barcelona are 19 points ahead of Real Madrid and also have extended their lead by 11 points. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both hit a brace in a 5-0 romp at Real Betis.
Ronaldo, who had just four goals before Sunday’s clash added Real’s fifth and sixth with a smart volley and a diving header in game as they moved back above Villarreal and into the Champions League places.
Villarreal had temporarily taken fourth with a 2-1 win over Levante on Saturday after beating Real at the Bernabeu for the first time ever last week.
Gareth Bale and Nacho also bagged braces each side of half-time and Luka Modric curled home a 68th-minute beauty as Real came back from a shock early deficit, a 23rd-minute tap-in from Adrian, to romp to an emphatic victory and ease the pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane.
“We needed that. In any case, it’s what we were missing in the sense that scoring seven goals at home this season, it’s hugely satisfying, and a relief,” said Zidane.
The win leaves Real five points behind Valencia in third, after Marcelino’s side had two players sent off in a shock 2-1 loss at lowly Las Palmas on Saturday.
Real had come into Sunday’s match in crisis following some dismal performances that culminated in last week’s defeat to Villarreal, and the mess seemed to have grown deeper when Adrian tapped home Lucas Perez’s low cross.
However, the home side reacted immediately and by half-time were 2-1 up thanks to Nacho’s neat first-time strike and a superb curling effort from Bale.
The floodgates opened in the second half, with Bale adding his second from a towering header and Luka Modric expertly whipping home Real’s fourth.
Ronaldo met Casemiro’s cross to make it five and then crashed home Lucas Vazquez’s cross, taking a boot in the face from Fabian Schar in the process.
As Ronaldo was led off the pitch to have his bleeding head quickly patched up he asked to see the phone of one of Real’s medical staff and, pointing the camera at himself, used it to check the damage to his face.
Nacho completed the rout in the dying minutes.
Second-placed Atletico Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Girona on Saturday meant Barca extended their lead with victory, leaving coach Ernesto Valverde waxing lyrical about Messi.
