 |
| INCREDIBLE RONALDO |
Ronaldo poured in an astonishing five goals in total, with a first half hat trick and a second half brace to give him a total of 36 goals in 26 La Liga matches. Joining the Portuguese superstar on the scoresheet was Gareth Bale, who opened the scoring for Los Blancos in the first half, and Karim Benzema, who bagged a second half brace. A late Diego Mainz own goal also added to Real’s advantage.
With James back from injury after a two-month layoff and at the disposal of manager Carlo Ancelotti, the Colombian was inserted into his starting midfield alongside Toni Kroos and
Luka Modric. In the back Iker Casillas was in goal and was protected by a back four of Álvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Marcelo. And up front it was the familiar sight of the BBC, with Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo leading the charge in attack.
It was little surprise to see Real dominate from the start as Ancelotti’s men were far and away the more imposing side. The chances came early and often, with a 22nd minute chance from Arbeloa the most notable, however the fullback skewered his shot wide after a chip across from Marcelo.
The opener would come four minutes later in the 25th minute thanks to the hard work and will of Bale. The Welshman fought off Granada defender Mainz to catch up to a pass from Kroos, and then expertly rounded Granada goalkeeper Oier before slipping in a shot into the open net to give Los Blancos a 1-0 lead.
The floodgates were officially opened five minutes later as Granada were unable to clear a loose ball in the area after a Kroos cross. The ball fell to James, who played a simple pass to his left to Ronaldo, and the Portuguese clinically finished past Oier to make it 2-0.
The match started to take on the feel of a Brazil-Germany World Cup semifinal as Ronaldo stretched the hosts’ lead to three in the 36th minute. It started with the Ballon d’Or winner playing a ball down the left to an overlapping Marcelo, whose cross deep into the area was deflected away by Oier, but it fell right to an onrushing Ronaldo who then smashed home a shot to put Ancelotti’s men in the lead 3-0.
Ronaldo’s magical half continued in the 38th minute with the completion of his hat trick.
This time the former Manchester United man did it himself by collecting a pass, charging toward the area and unfurling a bullet of a shot that deflected off the fingers of Oier and into goal. In the span of 13 quick minutes, the match had gone from 0-0 to 4-0, leaving a beaten Granada shaking their heads in disbelief.
The walloping of the Andalusians continued into the second half with Benzema adding himself to the scoreline in the 52nd minute when he chested down a James corner kick and fired into the net to push the lead to 5-0.
Real’s sixth and Ronaldo’s fourth would come a mere three minutes later, but perhaps at a bigger cost than warranted as the Real forward line beat the offside trap and Bale side-footed a pass that Ronaldo stooped down to head in. In the process of scoring, Ronaldo banged his leg against the post and got up gingerly, but was able to continue.
Benzema’s dream second half continued with a second goal in the 56th minute, as he scored from an almost identical spot as his first thanks to a deflection which saw the ball spin into the net between Oier and the near post and just like that it was 7-0 to Real.
It wasn't entirely a fruitless afternoon for Granada, as the visitors scored the goal of honor in the 74th minute thanks to some slick passing as Youssef El-Arabi found Robert Ibáñez with a through ball and the Valencia loanee was able to finish past Casillas to make it a 7-1 scoreline.
But Granada’s miserable afternoon would continue when they conceded another goal, this time coming off the boot of one of their own when Mainz accidentally re-directed a cross into his own net in the 83rd minute to make it 8-1 for Los Blancos.
Ronaldo capped his dream afternoon by adding his fifth when he powered in a header at the far post to hand Real a 9-1 advantage. Mercifully, the final whistle sounded moments later, and Ancelotti’s troops will now switch their focus to a Wednesday clash with city rivals Rayo Vallecano.
