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Ronaldo steals the show as Real trample Athletic Bilbao
Madrid, Nov 03: Two goals from Ronaldo helped give Real Madrid a 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao and put them on top of the Spanish first division after Deportivo la Coruna could only draw 0-0 at struggling Murcia.
Madrid, Nov 03: Two goals from Ronaldo helped give Real Madrid a 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao and put them on top of the Spanish first division after Deportivo la Coruna
could only draw 0-0 at struggling Murcia.
The reigning champions' World Player of the Year returned to form after three barren and lacklustre matches, firing home a left-foot half-volley on 33 minutes to open the scoring against the Basque visitors.
His second goal, ten minutes afer the break, may go down as one of his best in a Real shirt.
Picking up the ball around 30 metres in front of the Athletic goal, he danced past a succession of men in red-and-white striped shirts before unleashing a left foot thunderbolt just inside the area.
Ronaldo nearly got his hat trick shortly afterwards but instead became the service provider for Real's third goal, going around two Athletic defenders before laying the ball across the face of the goal to give Luis Figo an easy tap in.
The brace takes Ronaldo's tally to eight goals from ten league games this season.
A sad postscript to the match was that an Athletic supporter remains in a critical but stable condition in Madrid's Gregorio Maranon hospital after being hit on the head by a bottle and rendered unconscious earlier in the day.
Spanish radio station Cadena Ser said that the 25 year-old fan had been attacked by supporters of the Spanish second division club Rayo Vallecano in a bar in the Madrid suburbs near the Rayo ground, before Rayo played another Basque club Eibar.
Bureau Report
The reigning champions' World Player of the Year returned to form after three barren and lacklustre matches, firing home a left-foot half-volley on 33 minutes to open the scoring against the Basque visitors.
His second goal, ten minutes afer the break, may go down as one of his best in a Real shirt.
Picking up the ball around 30 metres in front of the Athletic goal, he danced past a succession of men in red-and-white striped shirts before unleashing a left foot thunderbolt just inside the area.
Ronaldo nearly got his hat trick shortly afterwards but instead became the service provider for Real's third goal, going around two Athletic defenders before laying the ball across the face of the goal to give Luis Figo an easy tap in.
The brace takes Ronaldo's tally to eight goals from ten league games this season.
A sad postscript to the match was that an Athletic supporter remains in a critical but stable condition in Madrid's Gregorio Maranon hospital after being hit on the head by a bottle and rendered unconscious earlier in the day.
Spanish radio station Cadena Ser said that the 25 year-old fan had been attacked by supporters of the Spanish second division club Rayo Vallecano in a bar in the Madrid suburbs near the Rayo ground, before Rayo played another Basque club Eibar.
Bureau Report