Real Madrid got past Levante 1-3 with a workmanlike performance against the relegation threatened team. Real Madrid had to go through some tricky moments as Levante fought right till the very end to secure a share of the spoils. A late goal from Isco finally settled the result for Los Blancos.
Squads
Levante – Marino; Ivan Lopez, Feddal, Medjani, Orban; Simao (c); Lerma, Morales, Camarasa; Deyverson, Rossi.
Real Madrid – Navas; Danilo, Pepe (c), Varane, Nacho; Casemiro, Kroos; Vazquez, James, Ronaldo; Mayoral.
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First Half: Ronaldo scores a penalty as Real Madrid take a 2-1 lead
Real Madrid took a narrow lead after the first half thanks to a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo and an own goal from Levante goalkeeper Marino. Levante started the game brightly and Rossi had the first clear chance of the game which was saved brilliantly by former Levante keeper Keylor Navas.
After the first 30 minutes in which nothing much happened, the game suddenly burst into life when Lucas Vasquez was brought down in the box by Orban. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and made no mistake from the penalty spot as he drilled it hard and low to score his 5th penalty of this season. That penalty took Ronaldo to 23 goals just two goals behind La Liga’s top scorer Luis Suarez.
In the very next minute, Madrid youngster Mayoral making just his thrid appearance for Los Blancos struck a powerful shot which rebounded off the post and unfortunately struck Marino and went in for an own goal. However, Levante did not let their heads drop and scored just two minutes after the second goal from Madrid through Deyverson.
After a slow start, the first half ended at a frantic pace and Real Madrid were lucky to concede only one. Zidane will be concerned with the Madrid defense with his team struggling to keep clean sheets.
Second Half: Substitute Isco scores a late goal to seal a 3-1 victory for Real Madrid
The second half was not too eventful with both sides struggling to create chances in the first few minutes. There were some powerful shots from distance from both the sides with efforts from James for Real Madrid and Ruben Garcia for Levante coming closest to a goal.
However, a stream of attacking substitutions from Levante made the game more open in the end as Levante pushed for an equalizer.
The game was finally put to bed in the 92nd minute when Isco who came on for James tucked away a wonderful cutback from Cristiano Ronaldo who got his 12th assist of the season. There is a thought that Ronaldo is more selfish than Messi however, this assist ensured that both Ronaldo and Messi have the same number of assists this season.
The win took Real Madrid to 57 points from 27 games, 4 points behind second placed Atletico Madrid and 9 points behind leaders Barcelona who have a game in hand.
