Real Madrid top La Liga as Barcelona held
October 23rd, 2011 - 2:37 pm ICT by IANSMadrid, Oct 23 (IANS) Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid won 4-0 away to Malaga to go atop the the Spanish football La Liga while Barcelona were held to a goalless draw by Sevilla.
The Portuguese international was back to his best as Real Madrid tore into a Malaga side that was looking forward to showing its potential after making a series of big money signings over the summer.
Gonzalo Higuain put Madrid ahead after just 10 minutes and Ronaldo completed his hat-rick before the break. He scored from close range following an Angel de Maria cross, fired home from the edge of the penalty area and then scored a clever flick from close range, Xinhua reported.
The win was enough to take Madrid to the top of the table after Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Sevilla.
Sevilla keeper Javi Varas was the hero of the night with a string of incredible saves, including an injury time penalty from Lionel Messi as Barcelona threw everything at a well organised Sevilla side, but were unable to score.
Saturday’s other matches saw Sporting Gijon record their first win of the season as first half goals from David Barral and Andre Castro gave them a 2-0 win at home to Granada.
The win pushed Sporting off the bottom of the table. Racing Santander are now last following a 1-0 home defeat to Espanyol. Sergio Garcia’s second half strike was enough to give Espanyol their second away win in a week, while Racing are yet to win a game this season.
- Barcelona beat Sporting Gijon to top Spanish League - Oct 03, 2011
- Real to face Malaga in Primera Liga - Mar 17, 2012
- Real Madrid blank Espanyol to keep lead in La Liga - Mar 05, 2012
- Real Madrid return to top with 6-2 thrashing of Sevilla - Dec 18, 2011
- Barcelona win easy in La Liga, Real maintain 10-point lead - Feb 20, 2012
- Real Madrid to face Sevilla in Spain's Primera Liga - Dec 15, 2011
- Real Madrid come from behind to win against Mallorca - Jan 15, 2012
- Messi back from India to resume Spanish liga action - Sep 09, 2011
- Real Madrid look to comeback after El Classico defeat - Dec 12, 2011
- Barca crush Atletico, Real thrash Rayo - Sep 25, 2011
- Real Madrid on brink of La Liga title - Apr 30, 2012
- Barca five points behind Real after draw against Espanyol - Jan 09, 2012
- Levante back to top four in Spanish Primera Liga - Feb 26, 2012
- Real Madrid remain unfazed despite draw with Malaga - Mar 20, 2012
- Real Madrid routs Granada to lead La Liga - Jan 08, 2012
Tags: barcelona, castro, close range, cristiano ronaldo, david barral, flick, granada, hat trick, injury time, lionel messi, maria cross, portuguese, racing santander, real madrid, ronaldo, second half, sergio garcia, spanish football, time penalty, xinhua