Real Madrid renewed their dominance over this season’s surprise team, Girona, by crushing them with a clean 4-0 victory on Saturday at the “Santiago Bernabeu” in the 24th round of the Spanish league, taking a significant step towards reclaiming the title from their rival, Barcelona.
Real Madrid struck early with a brilliant goal by Vinicius in the 6th minute, bringing his tally to 7 goals in the league this season.
Vinicius turned from goal-scorer to playmaker in the 36th minute, delivering a superb pass with the outside of his right foot to Bale, who put it in the net.
Real Madrid delivered the final blow to the Catalan visitors by scoring the third goal in the 54th minute through Bale after a fantastic individual effort from Vinicius.
Real sealed the three points definitively by adding the fourth goal, this time by the other Brazilian, Rodrigo, in the 61st minute.
With this win, Real Madrid made up for dropping two points in the previous round with a 1-1 draw against their fierce neighbor, Atletico Madrid, temporarily extending their lead to 11 points over their rival Barcelona (third and defending champions), who will play on Sunday against their visitor, Granada.
Real Madrid moved to the top spot with 61 points, 5 points ahead of Girona in second place.
It was not the first time Carlo Ancelotti’s team had defeated Girona, as they had previously won 3-0 in the first leg, repeating their victory on Saturday against the Catalan team, who played the match without their coach due to a suspension.
The win at the “Santiago Bernabeu” would have allowed Girona to continue to believe in their crazy dream of winning the title, which would make them the first team to break the dominance of the trio of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico since Valencia was crowned 20 years ago, precisely in the 2003-2004 season.
However, Real Madrid’s experience played its part on Saturday, as the royal club prepared in the best way for their visit to Germany next Tuesday, where they will face Leipzig in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, a competition they have won 14 times, with the most recent title two seasons ago.
Bale, who left the field immediately after scoring due to an ankle injury, increased his tally to 16 goals, leading the top scorers chart alone with a two-goal lead over Getafe’s striker, Borja Mayoral.
Real Sociedad’s Decline
Real Sociedad continued their decline by falling at home to Osasuna for the first time since 2005 with a 0-1 result.
Sociedad’s defeat against Osasuna came from a goal scored by the Croatian Ante Budimir in the 49th minute, before the Basque club embarks on a tough trip to the French capital on Wednesday to face Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.
The disappointing results continue for Sociedad, who have managed only one victory in the last eight rounds, keeping their tally at 37 points in seventh place temporarily, while Osasuna raised their points to 29 in the 11th position temporarily.
Villarreal returned from Alaves with a point from a draw, with a goal from Jorge Cuencas (minute 42) against a goal from the Nigerian Samuel Chukwueze (minute 25), bringing their tally to 25 points in 13th place temporarily, just two points behind their host.
Remember to stay tuned for more updates and results from the Spanish League and beyond.
