Ronaldo scores 3 goals as Real opens 10-point lead in Spain
Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals as Real Madrid rallied to defeat Levante 4-2 and stretch its lead in Spanish soccer’s La Liga to 10 points. AC Milan moved atop Italy’s Serie A as Juventus’ match was postponed.
Ronaldo scored in the 45th, 50th and 57th minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium last night after Gustavo Cabral put the visiting team ahead in the fifth minute. Arouna Kone made it 3-2 before Ronaldo set up Karim Benzema for Real’s fourth goal in the 66th minute.
Real’s seventh straight league victory lifted it to 58 points through 22 matches as it seeks a first league championship since 2008. Second-place Barcelona, which has won the past three titles, has 48 points after losing 3-2 at Osasuna two days ago.
Valencia moved to 40 points in third place with a 4-0 victory over relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon.
In the weekend’s other matches, last-place Real Zaragoza won 2-0 at Espanyol, Malaga beat Real Mallorca 3-1, Rayo Vallecano defeated Getafe 2-0, and Real Betis beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1. There was a scoreless tie between Racing Santander and Atletico Madrid, while Villarreal defeated Grenada 3-1. Real Sociedad hosts Sevilla today.
AC Milan rallied two days ago with second-half goals from Maxi Lopez and Stephan El Shaarawy to win 2-1 at Udinese and move two points ahead of Juventus in Italy. Antonio Di Natale had given the home team a 19th-minute lead.
Snow Postponement
Milan has played two more matches than Juventus, whose game at Bologna yesterday was postponed because of snow. Lazio is three points further back following a 3-2 win against Cesena on Feb. 9, with Udinese in fourth.
Fifth-place Inter Milan was upset 1-0 at home yesterday by last-place Novara.
Borussia Dortmund maintained its two-point lead in Germany’s Bundesliga following a 1-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen two days ago, while second-place Bayern Munich beat Kaiserslautern 2-0. Borussia Moenchengladbach climbed above Schalke into third spot after winning their matchup 3-0.
Hertha Berlin lost 5-0 at Stuttgart and yesterday fired its coach Michael Kibbe.
In France, Paris Saint-Germain was held to a 0-0 draw at Nice, though reclaimed the top spot from Montpellier. PSG has a one point lead, with Lille, Lyon and Rennes all 10 points further back.
Defending champion Lille, which has played one less game, yesterday lost 5-4 at home to Bordeaux. Montpellier beat AC Ajaccio 3-0 two days ago.
AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven are tied on points atop Dutch soccer’s Eredivisie after beating Excelsior and De Graafschap, respectively. Heerenveen and Feyenoord had victories yesterday and are five points back. FC Twente, which has played one game fewer, is another point behind after losing 3-2 at home to Heracles on Feb. 10.