LaLiga: Bellingham’s late goal gives Real Madrid ‘Clasico’ win to leave title in their grasp
The win leaves Real Madrid 11 points clear of Barcelona with just six games.
Real Madrid went 39 games unbeaten on Saturday with a 5-0 thrashing of lowly Granada, equalling a record set by their arch-rivals Barcelona under Luis Enrique.
Cristiano Ronaldo played his first match of 2017 but it was his teammate Isco, who stole the show with a first-half brace as Los Blancos restored their six-point lead at the top of the La Liga table. The Portuguese forward was presented with his fourth Ballon d'Or before the match in a sparkling ceremony, but Los Blancos gave in an outstanding all-round performance to prove they they aren't overly dependent on their talisman.
The talented Isco opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finishing well from the inside the box after being smartly set up by forward Karim Benzema.
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Benzema then got his goal eight minutes later, tapping in a rebound after Guillermo Ochoa could only parry Luka Modric’s shot from distance into the French forward’s path.
And the third came three minutes before the half-hour mark, full back Marcelo bamboozling his marker on the left wing before sending in an inviting cross for Ronaldo to head in his 11th league goal of the season.
Isco then further stretched the home side’s lead just before half-time, turning in Modric’s low cross from six yards to give coach Zinedine Zidane a selection dilemma heading into the second half of the season.
Defensive midfeidler Casemiro scored a rare goal of his own in the 58th minute to complete the rout as Madrid eased off with one eye on the Copa del Rey clash against Sevilla on Thursday.
With the likes of James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos coming on in the second-half, Madrid never once looked under danger of conceding and with Barcelona facing a tough trip to Villareal on Sunday, the pressure is well and truly on the chasing pack in Spain.
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