Real Madrid travelled to Alaves this weekend with the intention of bagging all 3 points on the day and were successful at that. Deyverson gave Alaves an early lead but then gave a penalty away which was converted by Portuguese forward, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo added a second before the break with a deflected shot but had a second spot-kick saved by the Alaves goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco 10 minutes from time. Alvaro Morata scored Real's third before Ronaldo completed his treble.
Zinedine Zidane's side are three points clear of Sevilla who came into the game this weekend in second place on the table, but were held to a 1-1 draw by Sporting Gijon earlier in the day. Barcelona are 2 points behind Real, while Atletico are a point further behind.
Here are 5 talking points from the game:
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo is back
The Portuguese forward broke his ‘mini-drought’ and was back to his best with a bang. He has not been in his best goalscoring form this season, having only scored 2 goals in La Liga before this game, in addition to a couple more in the Champions League.
Despite missing a penalty which he earned himself in the second half, Ronaldo managed to bag another hat-trick in his Madrid career. The numbers of his career are so mind-boggling that almost anything that the 3-time Ballon d'Or winner does on the pitch can surprise anyone anymore.
His first goal came from a penalty, while his second goal was one of the trademark long-range shots that Ronaldo is famed for.
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane praised the Portuguese star’s performance and said that he did well in all aspects of the game
#2 Injury to Pepe
Pepe walked off injured in the 24th minute of the game, to be replaced by Nacho for the rest of the game. The Portuguese defender first felt a searing pain on his thigh after a corner incident involving Deyverson, Danilo and himself, and he walked off the pitch shortly.
The injury to Pepe leaves Real without 2 world-class centre-backs, as Madrid earlier lost the other starting centre-back Sergio Ramos to injury during the international break. While Nacho has performed admirably and even scored an amazing scissor kick goal in midweek, there is no doubt that Real are a weaker side without their preferred centre-back duo.
Zidane’s headache just got a whole lot worse, even though Real’s fixture list is relatively easy in the next few weeks.
#3 Slow-paced game
Uncharacteristically, Real adopted a laidback approach throughout the course of the game. While Real fell behind early to Deyverson’s strike, it did not take long for them to first draw level with the home side, and then to score the goal that gave them the lead.
They gave Alaves the time and space to create their own chances, but the lack of quality of the newly promoted side was apparent in the game. While Theo was a nuisance down Real’s right for much of the game, Real’s defenders were on point on the night and were able to shut out nearly every move made by the Basque team following the goal.
Only a late upsurge gave them the gloss on the performance that comes with a 4-1 scoreline. The goal that Morata scored in the 84th minute finished the game, but for most of the game, Real’s midfield came up cropper with regards to creating clear-cut chances.
#4 The penalty incidents
Real Madrid’s first penalty incident was quite a debatable one, as a Gareth Bale free kick struck Deyverson’s elbow (Deyverson was standing in the wall and had raised his hand to keep out the Welshman’s goalbound shot).
While the Alaves players protested that Deyverson’s hand was raised to protect his face, the referee was having none of it and awarded the spot kick, duly converted by Ronaldo.
The second incident, which happened in the final quarter of the game, was much more clear-cut, as Ronaldo was brought down in the area during a corner routine by Alaves substitute Krsticic. His penalty, down in the left bottom corner, was expertly saved by Pacheco in the Alaves goal.
#5 Deyverson has now scored against both Real Madrid and Barcelona
The home team came into the game knowing that the best they could hope was avoid a thumping loss, and to a large extent, they succeeded in doing that.
In the end, however, Real got the scoreline that was expected of them, but it was not a disgraceful performance for the home side.
The goal that got them the initial lead was scored by Deyverson, who also scored one of the 2 goals that Alaves pumped in against Barca in a famous home victory. Deyverson now has 4 goals from 9 games in La Liga, but 2 of them are worth their weight in gold for both him and his club – the ones against Real Madrid and Barcelona.
