Blood, goals for Ronaldo as Madrid scores 7 to end poor run
MADRID (AP) - Real Madrid made its fans happy again with its biggest league win of the season, despite Cristiano Ronaldo being covered in blood.
Ronaldo, who left the game late with a cut to his face, scored twice as Madrid routed Deportivo La Coruna 7-1 in the Spanish league on Sunday, ending a three-match winless streak at home and easing the pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane and his players.
"The players needed a game like this, a victory with a lot of goals," Zidane said. "It's always good to score seven times at home. It's not something that happens very often so we are happy about it. We have to keep this momentum going."
Ronaldo had to leave with about five minutes remaining after being hit by the foot of a defender while scoring the team's sixth goal with a header. He was attended on the field for a while and could not continue as blood spilled over his face.
While walking off the field, with his face still stained by the blood, Ronaldo asked for the doctor's cell phone to take a look at the injury.
Madrid had already made three substitutions, but the much-needed victory was already secured by then.
The fans who had loudly jeered the team in recent matches were cheering on their feet after the final whistle at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The easy win followed a series of poor results that all but ended Madrid's title chances.
"We played a perfect match," Madrid midfielder Casemiro said.
Gareth Bale and Nacho Fernandez also scored twice, and Luka Modric added another goal for Madrid as it regained fourth place in the standings, cutting its deficit to Barcelona to a still massive 16 points. With a game in hand, Madrid is five points behind third-place Valencia, and one point in front of fifth-place Villarreal.
Deportivo, in the relegation zone and winless in five games, gave Bernabeu fans an early scare when Adrian Lopez opened the scoring midway through the first half.
Nacho and Bale helped Madrid rally before halftime, and each scored again in the second half along with Modric. Ronaldo, who hadn't found the net in three games, had scored with a shot from close range just a few minutes before getting injured.
Madrid was coming off a 1-0 loss to Villarreal, a 2-2 draw against second-division club Numancia in the Copa del Rey and a demoralizing 3-0 defeat to rival Barcelona. The team's second-string lineup won 1-0 at Leganes on Thursday in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.
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CELTA WINS
Maxi Gomez scored a second-half winner as Celta Vigo rallied to defeat struggling Real Sociedad 2-1 and move closer to the qualification zone for the Champions League.
Striker Willian Jose put the hosts ahead early in the first half - but later missed a penalty kick - as forward Iago Aspas equalized for Celta.
It was the second consecutive win for Celta, which is now seventh in the standings.
Real Sociedad, in 15th place, has lost three in a row.
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LATE EQUALIZER
Joseba Zaldua scored in the 90th as Leganes salvaged a 2-2 draw at Alaves after trailing by two goals for much of the second half.
Munir El Haddadi and Alfonso Pedraza put the hosts ahead with quick goals after halftime, and Gabriel Pires pulled Leganes closer in the 75th.
Leganes stayed 13th in the 20-team standings, while Alaves was 16th.
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