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Cristiano Ronaldo cocked a snook at his naysayers with a hat-trick as Real Madrid cruised past Espanyol by 6-0 to trim the gap at the top to just 4 points and trail neighbours Atletico Madrid by just one. Having beaten the Catalan outfit by an identical scoreline in the reverse fixture, Los Blancos inflicted more pain on Constantin Galca’s side with another drubbing.Striker Karim Benzema opened the floodgates in the 7th minute, whilst a strike from James Rodriguez, a treble from Ronaldo and an own goal by Duarte saw off another resounding victory for the Whites at the Santiago Bernabeu.Here are the major talking points from the game.
#1 Real Madrid remains a bogey-team for Espanyol
It's been over a decade since Espanyol last got the better of Real Madrid. Considering that and their 13th position in the league entering the fray, the Periquitos never looked likely of bucking their poor record against the illustrious rivals from Madrid and the final score at Bernabeu beamed the same.
Real Madrid have had minimal problems when going up against Espanyol and enjoyed great goal-mouth action, just as they did today. With a 6-0 battering of the side at Cornella-El Prat earlier this season, Los Blancos followed it up with another shellacking of the hapless Barcelona-based club and moreover, with the same scoreline.
Espanyol had held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at home in the first game of this year, but haven’t replicated that kind of performance against the side from the Spanish capital as they remain a bogey team for them.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo continues tormenting Espanyol
For the third successive game, Portuguese pouter Cristiano Ronaldo has struck a hat-trick against Espanyol, two of which had been ‘perfect’. He got his first in the 4-1 win in the penultimate game of last season, and stuck 5 times in his next visit to Cornella.
Now in the third meeting in the last 8 months, the 30-year old rounded off a hat-trick of hat-tricks with another treble.
The Real Madrid ace opened his account from 12 yards before doubling his tally just moments before half-time with a sumptuous strike. Later on with just 9 minutes remaining on the clock, he got his third of the evening with a header off Jese’s cross.
That's his 11th against Espanyol in the last 3 games and by now, the side must have surely grown sick at the even the sight of the strapping forward.
#3 Bernabeu turning into a fortress?
Amidst all the monumental victories that Real Madrid are racking up at home this season, what's emerging is the consensus that Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is turning into an unbreachable fortress. In the last 6 games there, the Whites have notched up a mind-boggling tally of 33 goals, which is enough to send a chill down the spine of the teams that make their way down there these days.
Although many of those victories have come against low-profile teams and were beaten 4-0 by arch-nemesis Barcelona in the season’s first Clasico, their recent run suggests they are happier to play in front of their own crowd, which is good as the visiting teams wouldn't stand much chance.
Their real test will arrive when the likes of Atletico Madrid and AS Roma come to town next month, but the ‘feel-good’ factor of playing with the massive backing from the faithful may become a key to winning those ties and many more vital games to come at the Bernabeu in the remainder of the season.
#4 Real Madrid get the job done quickly again
Whilst rivals Barcelona are struggling with the strange ‘first-half’ syndrome, Real Madrid, contrastingly, are enjoying that period. The Meringues have developed a knack of scoring early into the games and killing the tie off as soon as possible.
Under Zidane, Real Madrid have scored 11 first-half goals in 3 home games and have done the same a few more times earlier in the season under Rafa Benitez. Their blistering start to a match leaves other teams chasing for the rest of the time, and at home, it gets even worse for the visiting teams, who are battered from pillar to post.
Although they are yet to take on a quality side under their French gaffer, this Real Madrid trait of grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck right from the off may come really handy against those teams as well.
#5 Youngsters happy under Zidane
One of the most frustrating things about Rafa Benitez’s reign was marginalizing the young guns in the roster. The Spanish boss handed very few opportunities to the youthful players in the team, sparking disgruntlement in the dressing room.
Under Zinedine Zidane, however, all that has changed. The Frenchman has laid importance on the fringe players too, and has been giving them chances ever since he took over the hot seat.
Jese Rodriguez bagged two assists today, whilst Isco and James both started the game. Casemiro was given time to strut the field, whereas Dani Carvajal has reclaimed his spot at the right-back.
Zidane’s arrival has at least brought harmony within the team and it’s not difficult to figure out how. Maybe this can help them go a long way and pull up some trees at the end of the season.
