Ronaldo returns in Real win (AP) Updated: 2006-02-05 10:09
Ronaldo returned from injury to score a goal and Zinedine Zidane had two to
lead Real Madrid's 4-0 win over Espanyol on Saturday, moving it within 10 points
of Spanish league-leading FC Barcelona.
Real Madrid's
Ronaldo of Brazil (C) celebrates his goal against Espanyol with his team
mates during their Spanish First Division soccer match at Madrid's
Santiago Bernabeu stadium February 4, 2006. [Reuters] |
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Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez also scored for Madrid, which won its seventh
straight in league and Copa del Rey play to continue a revival under coach Juan
Ramon Lopez Caro, who replaced Vanderlei Luxemburgo in December.
"We did a great job in terms of our ability, organization and work. What was
most important was the team worked with the right attitude and we have to carry
on like this," Lopez Caro was quoted as saying by news agency Efe.
In a late game, David Villa scored from the halfway line to earn Valencia a
1-0 win over Deportivo de La Coruna. Earlier, Malaga beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1
and moved out of last place.
Valencia's victory at Deportivo's Riazor stadium extended its unbeaten league
run to 11 games and kept it in second place, nine points behind Barcelona. It
also provided some consolation for the team's elimination from the Copa del Rey
by Deportivo on Wednesday.
Barcelona leads the league with 52 points, Valencia has 43, and Madrid has
42.
On Sunday, Barcelona will seek to equal the Spanish record of 15 straight
league wins set by Madrid in the 1960-61 season when it hosts Atletico Madrid.
However, it will be without six players, including suspended Ronaldinho and
Samuel Eto'o, who is with Cameroon at the African Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Also Sunday, it's Sevilla versus Osasuna; Villarreal facing Cadiz; Zaragoza
opposing Real Betis; Real Sociedad taking on Mallorca; Getafe meeting Alaves;
and Racing Santander against Celta Vigo.
Guti scored Madrid's first goal at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the 14th
minute when he ran to the near post and turned in David Beckham's low cross from
the right.
Zidane sidefooted the second goal from inside the area in the 43rd minute
after left back Roberto Carlos cut the ball back from the goal line.
Ronaldo, who suffered a recurrence of a right calf injury during his previous
appearance for Madrid on Jan. 8, extended the lead in the 45th minute by heading
in a floated cross from the right by compatriot Cicinho. The goal was the
Brazilian's 10th of the season.
In the 51st minute, Zidane gently lifted the ball to enable him to volley
home from outside the area for Madrid's fourth and his fifth league goal in
three weeks.
Espanyol remained in 13th place with the loss, which could have been worse if
not for poor finishing by Real late in the second half.
Villa's dramatic goal came in the 22nd minute when he spotted Deportivo
goalkeeper Jose Francisco Molina off his line, prompting him to launch a
50-metre attempt that bounced once just before it entered the net.
The goal was the Spanish international's 14th of the season, four fewer than
league-leading Eto'o.
Five minutes later, Deportivo midfielder Victor Sanchez failed to convert
either of two attempts at the same penalty, thwarted both times by goalkeeper
Santiago Canizares.
The encounter was the fourth between the teams in 16 days.
Wednesday's quarter-final second leg at Valencia's Mestalla stadium was
resumed behind closed doors after an abandoned match a week earlier in which an
assistant referee was struck and cut on the face by a coin thrown from the
crowd.
Deportivo, which remained in seventh, has only earned only one point from its
last four matches.
Malaga, which won for the first time in 10 matches, earned a victory for
Manuel Ruiz Hierro in his debut as manager. Hierro, who replaced Antonio Tapia
on Monday, is the brother of former Spain captain Fernando Hierro.
Defender Carlos "Litos" de Oliveira gave Malaga the lead in the 31st minute
when he rose to head home Ricardo Bovio's floated free kick. The goal was
Malaga's first in the new year.
Bilbao forward Aritz Aduriz headed into an empty net to equalize nine minutes
later after Fernando Llorente headed Fran Yeste's free kick across the Malaga
goal.
Malaga had midfielder Nacho Perez ejected in the 70th minute after receiving
two yellow cards in five minutes.
Malaga won the game three minutes later with another goal from a free kick as
striker Salva Ballesta headed home from Antonio Hidalgo's cross from the right.
Malaga climbed to 17th place with 20 points, while Bilbao dropped to 18th and
into the relegation zone with 19 points.
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