La Liga leaders continue fine form with comfortable victory.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid have continued their fine recent form under manager Carlo Ancelotti with a comfortably victory over Madrid rivals Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu, with Welshman Gareth Bale stepping straight back into the limelight after his recent injury absence with the crucial first goal for Real.
It came within ten minutes and was courtesy of one of the crisp, flowing passing moves that have been Real’s trademark in recent weeks, with the superb Toni Kroos released in behind and crossing for Bale to arrive and touch home at the first half to give the hosts the lead:
Real dominated the rest of the first half despite the enthusiasm of a hard-working Rayo side who are looking to establish themselves in La Liga, but the visitors fell further behind just before the break when Sergio Ramos guided in a cross. Not to be deterred, however, Rayo came storming back and pulled things back to 2-1 at half-time when a dreadful James Rodriguez back pass let in Alberto Bueno to tap home:
After the break, however, Rayo began to wilt and allowed their hosts to take control of the game, with Toni Kroos getting a deserved goal to put Real 3-1 in front when he curled home a beautiul effort from 25 yards:
There was still time for Carlo Ancelotti’s team to add two more goals to their tally, with Karim Benzema tapping home from an offside position after a mishit shot from Cristiano Ronaldo, before the Portuguese got on the scoresheet himself thanks to some dreadful goalkeeper from Rayo stopper Alvarez:
In the end, Real settled for five goals at the Bernabeu and picked up a result that takes them back above Barcelona and to the summit of La Liga after their bitter rivals had come from behind to beat Almeria earlier this evening.