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January 20, 2014

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Ronaldo’s rocket sparks Real’s 5-0 drubbing of Betis

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a long-range goal worthy of the recently awarded Ballon d’Or to spark Real Madrid’s 5-0 rout at Real Betis, provisionally lifting his team level with the leader of the Spanish league on Saturday.

Ronaldo netted one of his signature freekicks in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday to celebrate being named the world player of the year, and he topped that with a 25-meter blast taken on the run in the 10th minute in Seville.

Gareth Bale followed Ronaldo’s rocket with a delicately placed freekick in the 25th for his first goal since November 30, leaving the hosts demoralized and in tatters at the back.

Karim Benzema, Angel Di Maria and Alvaro Morata all scored before the demolition of bottom-side Betis was over.

Elsewhere, Espanyol beat Celta Vigo 1-0 in Barcelona thanks to Sergio Garcia’s late goal to move into the upper half of the standings, while Osasuna was outplayed at Granada but held on to draw 0-0 and stay undefeated in five rounds.

In Italy, Juventus eased to a 4-2 win over Sampdoria to restore its eight-point advantage at the top of the Serie A table after Roma comfortably beat relegation-threatened Livorno 3-0. Roma and Juventus meet in the Italian Cup quarterfinals this month.

Juventus broke the deadlock in the 18th minute when Pogba sent a through ball in for Vidal to flick into the bottom right corner. The Turin side extended its lead minutes later when Fernando Llorente leapt highest to head in Carlos Tevez’s corner.

 




 

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