Ronaldo Scores Four As Real Thrash Sevilla
Ronaldo hits four past Sevilla and overcomes Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo put the Champions League poor performances behind and scored four goals in Real’s 6-2 comprehensive victory over Sevilla to go top spot in the Primera top-scorers’ table. Jose Mourinho’s side have gone five points behind leaders Barca who have one game in hand instead.
Ramos opened the score for the visitors, while Kaka brought the last goal of the first half. On the other side, Negredo completed a double but Sevilla left the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium depressed. Benzema was the first to put Varas’s into trouble. The French striker hit a powerful shot the keeper was equal to. Sevilla received some bad news in the 12th minute, Navarro being forced to pull over due to a groin injury. Dabo replaced him on the right.
Benzema got his second chance one minute later. Mesut Ozil’s great slalom finished with a perfect cross the French failed to head goalwards from close range. The 15th minute highlighted Ronaldo’s first opportunity. Kaka picked the Portuguese in good position but his poor finish compromised his top-scorer state.
Sergio Ramos brought the first lead in the 25th minute following a superb corner from the right. Ozil picked the defender seven yards out only to head it past keeper Varas. Two minutes later things could have gone much worse for Gregorio Manzano’s side had Ronaldo aimed the target instead of hitting the post. Eight minutes later he would find the target and score his first. Marcelo played Benzema with a long cross on the right. The French then fed Ronaldo with a superb header across the goal for an easy finish.
Alonso, too, was chasing a goal. The midfielder got his first chance with four minutes left. Ronaldo served the Spaniard outside the box, but his trade mark powerful shot was tipped away by the keeper. Kaka made it 3-0 in the 44th minute. The Brazilian brought half victory for Real following a one-two with Ozil and a well-placed shot into the far post. Statistics were blown away as Sevilla awarded Madrid ten corners only in the first half.
Negredo made it 1-3 after one hour of play. Sevilla’s striker beat his mark on the edge of the box to deny Casillas with a superb strike into the near post. But Real’s reply came as just. Ronaldo put his side back into a three-goal lead just five minutes later. A poor defending awarded the striker a free ball which he thundered it home from close range. Ronaldo had to wait just three more minutes for a hat-trick. As usual, Ozil played the servant to feed the Portuguese whose beat Varas following a long distance run.
But things would go even better for Ronaldo. Benzema helped him score his fourth goal of the night, sending a lovely cross the striker converted into a 6-1 lead. Sevilla got one more consoling goal with five minutes left. Negredo headed a corner home between two defenders but just for a little celebration. Real were by far the better side, though Jose Mourinho couldn’t be seen celebrating throughout the entire meeting.
Said the happiest man on the pitch, Ronaldo: “We played extremely well tonight. We have three matches left and we need to play like we did tonight. We played well, and not just because we changed tactics. We were very motivated… We earned an excellent result after losing the Champions League semifinal, and that isn’t easy to do. “
Ronaldo leads the top-scorers’ table with 33 goals, being followed by Barcelona’s star Leo Messi with 31. The Ballon d’Or is now condemned to recover the two-goal deficit in four games. Real sit second with 83 points won in 35 games, while Sevillia are seventh with 52 points, the loss to Madrid being their 13th of the season.
Real will next play Getafe, Sevilla being expected to face Osasuna on Wednesday.
Sevilla FC – Varas; Navarro, Escude, Fazio, Sanchez; Romaric, Zokora, Medel, Capel; Kanoute, Negredo. Reserves: A. Alfaro, Renato, I. Dragutinovic, A. Palop, A. Kone, D. Perotti, M. Dabo.
Real Madrid – Casillas; Arbeola, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo; Alonso, Diarra, Ozil, Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo; Benzema. Reserves: E. Garay, E. Granero, S. Canales, G. Higuain, J. Dudek, R. Albiol, E. Adebayor.
Primera Division Sunday fixtures:
RCD Mallorca – Villarreal CF
FC Barcelona – RCD Espanyol
Real Zaragoza – Osasuna11
