The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    UPDATE 3-Soccer-Real race clear as Ronaldo treble sinks Atletico

    Synopsis

    SOCCER-SPAIN/ (UPDATE 3, PIX):UPDATE 3-Soccer-Real race clear as Ronaldo treble sinks Atletico

    * Real beat Atletico for first time in La Liga since 2013

    * Ronaldo goes level with Messi and Suarez on eight goals

    * Barcelona held by Malaga after Messi taken ill before game (Releads with Madrid derby)

    By Richard Martin

    BARCELONA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Atletico Madrid fans will have bitter memories of the last local derby at the Vicente Calderon stadium by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday.

    Ronaldo's deflected free kick put Real in charge in the 23rd minute in the first meeting of the teams since the Champions League final in May.

    The prolific Portuguese killed off Atletico's resistance by winning and converting a penalty in the 71st minute and capped a harrowing night for the home side by tapping in the third in the 77th.

    It was Real's first league win over their city rivals since 2013 while Ronaldo's treble took him to the top of the league's scoring list on eight goals along with Barcelona pair Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

    Real are top of the table with 30 points from 12 matches, four above Barcelona after the champions were held to a goalless draw at home to Malaga who finished the game with nine men.

    Atletico are nine points adrift of Real in fifth while Sevilla are third on 24 after beating Deportivo La Coruna 3-2.

    Real were without midfield duo Casemiro and Toni Kroos and coach Zinedine Zidane decided to rest Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema, who had only just recovered from injury.

    After a frantic end-to-end start, the visitors took control and came close to taking the lead when Ronaldo headed towards goal and Jan Oblak dived low to hook the ball off the line.

    Real's all-time top scorer told the referee's assistant the ball had gone over the line but he did not have to wait much longer to celebrate a legitimate goal.

    SAVIC DEFLECTION

    He whipped a free kick at the wall and saw it deflected off Stefan Savic's hip beyond Oblak.

    Just like the Champions League final, Atletico made a better start to the second half and set about trying to get a foothold in the game.

    Antoine Griezmann burst into the box from the left but could only fire the ball out for a throw from a tight angle while Yannick Carrasco came close with a long-range strike.

    Atletico coach Diego Simeone threw caution to the wind by bringing on forwards Kevin Gameiro and Angel Correa for Fernando Torres and Gabi but Ronaldo took advantage of the extra space they left at the back, racing behind Savic and tumbling over the defender's stray leg.

    Ronaldo sealed Real's 11th European Cup triumph with a penalty against Oblak and made no mistake from the spot here, sending the Slovenian the wrong way.

    He then stuck the knife into Atletico by turning in Gareth Bale's low cross to complete his treble. (Editing by Ed Osmond and Tony Jimenez)



    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (This story has not been edited by economictimes.com and is auto–generated from a syndicated feed we subscribe to.)

    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in