First Division - Day 22

Real Madrid 6 - Espanyol 0

Madrid: Keylor Navas; Dani Carvajal, Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Modric (Jesé 63’), Kroos (Casemiro 69‘), Isco; James, Benzema (Lucas Vázquez 74‘), Ronaldo. 4-3-3.
Espanyol: Arlauskis; Javi López, Alvaro González, Enzo Roco, Rubén Duarte (Oscar Duarte 46’); Pape Diop, Víctor Sánchez (Abraham 57‘); Hernán Pérez, Joan Jordan, Salva Sevilla (Fuentes 46’); Mamadou Sylla. 4-2-3-1.

Goals:
1-0. 07. Benzema. Got on the end of James centre to head wide of Arlauskis.
2-0. 12. Ronaldo (penalty). After Enzo Roco brought down Ronaldo in area .
3-0. 16. James. Shot from outside of area which took deflection off Pape Diop.
4-0. 45. Ronaldo. Picked up deflected James pass and cut across area to score.
5-0. 82. Ronaldo. Steered far post header past keeper from chipped Jesé cross.
6-0. 86. Oscar Duarte (own goal). Turned Jesé cross into own net trying to clear.

Yellow cards: Hernán Pérez 12’, Pape Diop 37’, Sylla 43’, Javi López 43’, Alvaro 77’, Casemiro 84’.

Third placed Real Madrid closed to within a point of Atlético after a comfortable 6-0 victory over a depleted Espanyol in the last game on Sunday. With Caicedo injured, Moreno suspended, and Marco Asensio and Burgui both unable to play for contractual reasons, Galca had to cobble together a makeshift attack. Keylor Navas was hardly troubled though, and once again Zidane’s team got off to a quick start, Benzema heading a James cross past debutant keeper Arlauskis, Ronaldo converting a penalty after he was brought down by Roco, and James making it three with a deflected shot, all in the first quarter of an hour or so. Ronaldo had already scored five against Espanyol earlier in the season, and this time he notched up a hat-trick, his second coming after James put him through on the stroke of half time, and the third a header from Jesé’s cross with eight minutes to go. Some four minutes later new signing Oscar Duarte could only turn another Jesé centre into his own net for the sixth, and it was all over.