Bale, CR7 hand Real relief – Lafita inspires Getafe to beat misfiring Villarreal

This news has been read 7246 times!

BARCELONA, Spain, Nov 29, (Agencies): Gareth Bale scored his first goal in three months for Real Madrid before Cristiano Ronaldo added a penalty to secure a 2- 0 win at Eibar on Sunday and end its two-game losing run in the Spanish league. Bale headed in Luka Modric’s cross two minutes before halftime, and Ronaldo converted a spot kick in the 82nd after a penalty was awarded when substitute Lucas Vazquez went down after slight contact with Dani Garcia. Madrid’s win at Ipurua Stadium came after the team was heavily criticized after losses at Sevilla and last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Barcelona.

Madrid remained in third place, six points behind leader Barcelona and two points behind Atletico Madrid after they both won on Saturday. Ronaldo, who hadn’t escaped the ire of Madrid’s fans for the loss to Barcelona largely directed at coach Rafa Benitez and president Florentino Perez, spent most of the game lamenting missed chances before he got his ninth league goal of the season from the spot.

Until the Portugal forward put the result beyond doubt, the hosts had matched Madrid’s talent with effort and constantly appeared threatening. Eibar, which was missing injured top scorer Borja “Baston” Gonzalez and suspended forward Sergio “Keko” Gontan, slipped into seventh place after just its third loss in 13 rounds. Madrid was without injured defenders Marcelo, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, and under-fire Madrid coach Rafa Benitez shifted Danilo over from his position on the right side to play at left back.

Eibar opted to pressure instead of sitting back and defending its area, producing an attractive, flowing match. Eibar striker Sergi Enrich had the first scoring chance before Ronaldo’s chipped shot was saved by goalkeeper Asier Riesgo in the 15th. Eibar forced Modric into several ineffective passes early. But when the Croatia midfielder had time to consider his cross after taking a corner kick, he curled in a pass to the near post for Bale to glance past Riesgo. That was Bale’s first goal for Madrid since Aug. 29, when he scored his only other two goals this season in a 5-0 win over Real Betis in the second round.

Bale had scored twice for Wales during his drought for the Spanish club. Bale almost got another goal in firsthalf injury time when he controlled a long pass and managed to get off a shot despite falling down, forcing a diving save from Riesgo. Meanwhile, Getafe’s Angel Lafita scored one goal and set up another on Sunday in a 2-0 victory over misfiring Villarreal, who now have just one win in seven La Liga matches.

Villarreal have lost their way after a bright start to the season and lie sixth on 21 points, behind Deportivo La Coruna on goal difference, while Getafe are 13th and level with Rayo Vallecano on 14 points. In a scrappy start Villarreal were centimetres away from taking the lead with a Manu Trigueros shot coming off Nahuel Leiva and hitting the crossbar, and then Nahuel volleyed wide in front of goal having been set up by Samu Garcia

This news has been read 7246 times!