Real Madrid beat Villarreal 4-2
In a nail-biting encounter, Real Madrid managed to bag a win against a spirited Villareal team 4-2, courtesy of a hat-trick by Cristiano Ronaldo. Madrid were twice behind and were made to work hard at Bernabeu for the win.
Villarreal got the first goal from Cani, and but Ronaldo soon made it 1-1. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marco-Ruben-c23740 once again got the Yellow Submarine ahead, but the Portuguese captain got Madrid level once again, and it was a hard worked left footer that got Madrid the lead for the
first time in the game. It was not the end of the Ronaldo show as he ended the match with an assist for Kaka, who came back into the team after a long layoff.
The win against Villareal means that Real Madrid have now won 17 consecutive games at home and are currently just 2 points behind Barcelona, who are sitting at the top of the table. The 4-2 win also means that Villarreal have now conceded 10 goals at Madrid
in their last 2 visits- the same fixture last season ended in a 6-2 win for Madrid. The defeat keeps Villarreal in 3rd place on the table, but there is a big gap of 11 points between them and Real Madrid.
The start of the game was frenetic and Villarreal were on the front foot, looking determined to break the impeccable home record for the All Whites. Jose Mourinho has not been beaten at home in a league game throughout his managerial career- a record that
dates back to almost 8 years, when he started at Porto in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Portugal-c2984.
Just seven minutes into the game, the visitors got the breakthrough; former Manchester United striker, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cani-c8305, who made no mistake in firing the ball in the bottom right corner, past Iker Caillas. The joy for Villarreal
was short lived, though, as Madrid got back on level terms in just 2 minutes. French striker, Karim Benzima and German midfielder, Mesut Ozil did well on the edge of the penalty area, and Ozil played a good ball to Ronaldo, who calmly slotted it in to make
it 1-1.
Villarreal were set back by the goal for a few minutes, but they did not give in to the Madrid pressure and continued to fight on. In the 19th minute, they once again took the lead. It was Ruben who was left alone on the left flank, and he made
his way into the box before unleashing a low drive past the keeper.
Madrid looked all set to go into the dressing rooms with a goal’s deficit, but Ronaldo had other ideas; he acted quickly to get on the end of a free kick from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Xabi-Alonso-c37045 and, once again, levelled the game. The teams ended the first half on level terms with
rising tension in both camps.
The 2nd half saw a much more composed Real Madrid team, and Mourinho had clearly addressed the flaws in defence as they looked much more solid. Ronaldo continued to be on attack and was, at one point, one-on-one with the keeper, but his shot was
off target.
Villarreal got their chance of taking the lead when Rossi was left open, but his ball was intercepted easily by Casillas. Madrid started imposing themselves on Villarreal and a goal seemed to be imminent. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629 finally got the crucial goal, 10
minutes before the last whistle. He was given the ball on the bye-line and had a shooting opportunity a few yards away from the goal, but his first shot was blocked. He, however, latched onto the rebound and, turning around inside the area, smashed it with
his left foot to send Jose Mourinho jumping with joy. Kaka then came on from the bench to knock in the 4th and completed a hard fought and well earned win for the Spanish Giants.
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