Madrid : Real Madrid got their La Liga title challenge back on course despite an underwhelming performance as goals from Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo handed them a 2-0 win at Eibar. In front of a capacity 6,000 fans at Ipurua, Madrid did little to dispel the doubts caused by their 4-0 thrashing by Barcelona last weekend but Bale’s first-half header and a late penalty from Ronaldo were enough for all three points yesterday. Madrid remain in third, but victory takes Rafael Benitez’s men back to within six points of league leaders Barca and two points of city rivals Atletico Madrid. “The important thing was to get the three points and do so with this spirit of sacrifice,” said Madrid boss Rafael Benitez. “The fans know that the most important thing when you have players of this quality is that they also work as they did today. “That is the key if we want to continue being strong in the future.” Eibar have enjoyed a stellar start to just their second season in the top flight, but as against Barcelona and Atletico in their only other two prior defeats this season, they didn’t have enough quality to trouble Madrid in the final third.
After a slow start, Ronaldo was presented with a great chance to open the scoring on 15 minutes from James Rodriguez’s fine through ball, but he couldn’t lift the ball over the advancing Asier Riesgo and Mateo Kovacic wastefully fired the rebound over. Madrid’s pressure told two minutes before the break when Luka Modric’s brilliant cross was flicked home at the near post by Bale for his first goal for Madrid in three months. The Welshman could have had a second moment later as he brilliantly controlled a long ball into the box, but lacked the power needed in his final effort to beat Riesgo. Bale turned provider at the start of the second period with a pinpoint cross for Ronaldo only for the Portuguese to fluff his lines when attempting an overhead kick. Ronaldo’s wayward afternoon in front of goal continued when he somehow failed to hit the target with the goal at his mercy after rounding Riesgo from Lucas Vazquez’s pass.
Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar shortlist for Ballon d’Or
Zurich: Barcelona pair Lionel Messi and Neymar were on Monday named on the shortlist for FIFA’s prestigious Ballon d’Or along with double reigning title holder, Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid. While Portuguese Ronaldo has triumphed over the last two seasons (in a total of three wins), Argentinian Messi has previously claimed the coveted award four times while Brazilian Neymar makes the shortlist for FIFA’s player of the year award for the first time. Messi was the catalyst for Barcelona’s impressive run to three titles last season (the Champions League, La Liga and the Spanish Cup) and will be the standout favourite ahead of Ronaldo. The Portugal international might have finished the season without a trophy, but his individual talent shone out as he was La Liga’s highest scorer with 48 goals, and has notched up a leading seven in the Champions League this term.
