Ronaldo Puts Real Madrid On Verge Of Title

Real Madrid are now just a point away from a 33rd La Liga crown thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo brace in a 4-1 win over Celta Vigo on Wednesday night at the Estadio Balaidos in Vigo.

Also adding their name to the scoresheet in the victory were Karim Benzema in the 70th minute and Toni Kroos in the 88th, while John Guidetti did his best to put his Manchester nightmare behind him in scoring the lone Celta goal in the 69th minute. Celta were a plucky opponent, but Real’s quality and talent was too much for the hosts to match, and once Iago Aspas was sent off in the 62nd minute, Celta’s chances at a result were all but dashed.

Leaving nothing to chance, Real manager Zinedine Zidane went with his strong starting XI possible, with the sidelined Gareth Bale once again being replaced by Isco. As for the hosts, the injury to Nemanja Radoja promoted Celta boss Eduardo Berizzo to go with Jozabed in midfield.

There was no doubting the intensity of the match from the start, as the two teams went at each other hard. The tempo suited Real and they got an early breakthrough to ease any nerves. And of course, it had to be Ronaldo.

Isco failed to keep possession after collecting a long pass but Ronaldo was there to pounce on the loose ball and the Portuguese left Celta goalkeeper Sergio flat-footed with a bullet to give Real a 1-0 lead.

Ronaldo was mere inches away from a second goal just after the midway point of the half, as Real mounted a counter through Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, but the latter’s pass for Ronaldo was cut off by Celta’s Facundo Roncaglia to prevent the score.

Celta started to find their footing though, and Real needed every bit of goalkeeper Keylor Navas to stop a well-struck shot from Wass. That was a followed by a pair of stinging efforts from Aspas that sizzled wide.

The Galicians had a major gripe toward the end of the half that Raphael Varane handled right outside the area, but the only result was a goal kick and a yellow card for the protesting Aspas.

Real looked to put the match to bed early in the second half, and the man who has been the spark plug for Real’s superb stretch run, Isco, set up Ronaldo’s second of the evening. It started with a counter-attack, as Isco was able to shake off a pair of Celta defenders before feeding with an inch-perfect pass that the Portuguese deposited into Sergio’s net for a 2-0 lead.

Already facing an uphill climb to make up two goals in less than a half, Celta’s job got considerably tougher when Aspas was sent off with a second yellow for a dive in the area. There was contact between Aspas and Sergio Ramos, but referee Martinez Munuera felt that the Celta forward had flung himself on the ground and was thereby punished.

It took the Aspas red card to get Celta fired up, but suddenly they had Real on the ropes and if not for a spectacular stop from Navas, Wass would have cut the deficit down to one. Celta kept at it though and this time a break went their way when a Guidetti shot deflected off of Ramos’ outstretched foot and dropped like a Rafa Nadal topspin lob over Navas and into goal to make it 2-1.

Real responded right away and some fancy footwork from Marcelo on the left wing resulted in the easiest of pushes into net for Benzema to restore Real’s two-goal advantage to 3-1.

Real fans could not believe what they saw next. The impact of the man advantage noticeable with each minute, as the chances came fast and furious for Real with Ronaldo poised to complete his hat-trick. The former Manchester United man played a one-two combination with Toni Kroos that saw the Ronaldo receive the ball back right in front of Sergio, but incredibly the Portuguese’s shot skirted just wide of the near post.

Sergio was called into action a number of times in the final 15 minutes, namely on chances from Isco, Modric and Benzema, but the Celta No.1 admirably stood his ground.

Still, it was all Real and Kroos put the finishing touch on the 4-1 scoreline by sweeping in a right-footer after a deep Celta giveaway.

Next up for Real is their La Liga season finale on Sunday at Malaga.

– Match facts:

1.- Celta: Sergio; Mallo, Cabral, Roncaglia, Jonny; Pablo Hernandez, Jozabed (Marcelo Diaz, min. 72), Wass; Iago Aspas, Guidetti (Beauvue, min. 86), Pione Sisto (Cheikh, min. 80)

4.- Real Madrid: Keylor; Danilo, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro (Kovacic, min. 72), Modric, Kroos, Isco (Lucas Vazquez, min. 84); Benzema, Ronaldo (Asensio, min. 84).

Goals: 0-1, min. 10: Ronaldo; 0-2, min. 48: Ronaldo; 1-2, min. 69: Guidetti; 1-3, min. 70: Benzema; 1-4, min. 88: Kroos

Referee: Martinez Munuera (Valencia).

Yellow Cards: Casemiro (Min. 30) for Real Madrid, Aspas (Min. 38) for Celta, Aspas (Min. 62) for Celta, Jonny (Min. 64) for Celta, Guidetti (Min. 66) for Celta, Mallo (Min. 73) for Celta, Pablo Hernandez (Min. 85) for Celta

Red cards: Aspas (Min. 62) for Celta

Stadium: Balaidos

Attendance: 28.500