Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 29th hat-trick of his Real Madrid career to drag his team back up to just two points behind Barcelona with a 3-...
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 29th hat-trick of his Real Madrid career to drag his team back up to just two points behind Barcelona with a 3-2 win over Sevilla.
It was the first time Unai Emery’s side had been beaten at home in 35 games and it was Ronaldo that ended that 15 month unbeaten run.
In the hours leading up to the game, it cannot have made pleasant pre-match viewing as he watched Barcelona put eight past Cordoba and Lionel Messi score his 40th and 41st goal of the season but he responded in the best possible way.
Lionel Messi scored his 40th league goal of the season and Luis Suarez grabbed his first Barcelona hat-trick as the league leaders won 8-0 to stay clear at the top with just three games left to play.
Ivan Rakitic, Gerard Pique and Neymar also scored as Barcelona breezed past Cordoba in the sweltering heat on Saturday.
Messi has now scored 51 goals in all competitions this season breaking the half-century mark for the fourth time in his career. In the 2010-11 season he scored 53 goals.
He got 73 the following season and in the 2012-13 campaign he scored 60. He could have got a third but handed Neymar the ball for the Brazilian to score a late penalty.
It was six years to the day that Barcelona had beaten Real Madrid 6-2 in the Santiago Bernabeu in one of their most famous victories. This was a fitting tribute to that result.
