Real Madrid looked unstoppable today on the field as they were able to get past Malaga CF and take the three points home with them. A score of 3-1 is all they needed although Malaga had a couple of chances to come back but it was not enough as Real Madrid were the stronger opponent on Saturday afternoon.
Goals from Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez, and Cristiano Ronaldo was enough to see Real Madrid take the win as Juanmi was able to pull one back. Things started out shaky for Real Madrid when Gareth Bale went down in the third minute and seemed to have a Calf injury and had to be replaced by Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. Hernandez was able to play well as well as he assisted Ronaldo with the third goal of the match. Luka Modric also had to step off the field in the 57th minute when he was kneed pretty hard by Recio and was replaced by Illarramendi in the second half. As things start looking great for Real Madrid, it looks like injuries are haunting them again and who knows how long Bale and Modric will be out with the Champions League second leg quarterfinal coming up on Tuesday against city rivals, Atletico Madrid.
The first goal came in the 23rd minute when Ronaldo took the free kick and found Sergio Ramos on the right side of the danger zone. Ronaldo crossed it inside the box and Ramos was able to kiss the ball with his left foot to make it 1-0. The replay shows us that Ramos might have been offsides but the assistant referee kept his flag down.
In the 67th minute, Ronaldo had a chance to make it 2-0 in a penalty given to them when James was brought down inside the box. He was able to get his 50th goal of the season but instead when he took the free kick, the ball bounced off the goalpost and kept the game at 1-0.
Not a minute later James was able to make it 2-0 and make people forget about the penalty Ronaldo had missed. James found Alvaro Arbeloa on his left side who passed it back to James. James then gave it to Isco who gave it back to James and then James passed it to Ronaldo. Ronaldo quickly passed it back to James and the colombian was able to curve the ball and take a deflection off Kameni but it was not enough from the goalkeeper as it went past him and gave Real Madrid the 2 goal advantage.
Not two minutes later Juanmi made Real Madrid uncomfortable as he was able to bring one back for Malaga. Roberto Rosales was able to cross the ball and connect it to Juanmi who got a beautiful header and past Iker Casillas to make it 2-1.
Ronaldo was able to make it 3-1 in stoppage time and get his 50th goal of the season. Ronaldo redeemed himself when Chicharito was able to take a defender of Malaga and then cross it to Ronaldo who kissed it inside the net and made it 3-1.
Real Madrid are still stay alive after winning against Malaga and hope to continue the pressure on Barcelona for La Liga title. Real Madrid will face Atletico Madrid on tuesday for the Champions League quarterfinal and then face Celta de Vigo on Sunday while Malaga faces Deportivo on Saturday afternoon.
The man of the match goes out to Cristiano Ronaldo who got his 50th goal of the season and was able to assist Sergio Ramos with his fourth goal of the season and the first of the match.
