Real Madrid overcame a shaky performance to maintain their fine recent form to defeat Eibar 2-1 at the Estadio Municipal de Ipurua.
Victory means Zinedine Zidane’s side have won eight of their last nine matches in all competitions, but
still trail 12 points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who have a game in hand.
The home side dominated the first 30 minutes and created several chances to break the deadlock but against the run of play, a delightful Luka Modric pass sliced through the Eibar defence for Cristiano Ronaldo to open the scoring.
Ivan Ramis headed home Pedro Leon’s corner to level five minutes after the restart, but Ronaldo finally doubled his, tally after being denied by two brilliant saves from Marko Dmitrovic earlier in the match, to seal all three points.
? FT: @SDEibar 1-2 #RealMadrid (Ramis 50′; @Cristiano 34′, 84′).#Emirates | #RMLiga pic.twitter.com/gXkHtSKpk1
— Real Madrid C.F.???? (@realmadriden) March 10, 2018
Tweet of the match
That man again! #EibarRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/zWFJDm6YjQ
— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) March 10, 2018
Star man – Luka Modric
They’ve picked a good weekend to see a masterclass from Luka Modrić, too. Wouldn’t be able to guess that injuries have interrupted his minutes recently.
— Simon Harrison (@simonhfootball) March 10, 2018
The former Tottenham star had missed the last six matches through injury but slotted back in midfield alongside Casemiro and the returning Toni Kroos with ease and gave Real calmness and vision on the ball that they have lacked in his absence. He was involved in the majority of the visiting side’s attacking threat, including a superb assist for the opener, and the Croatian was defensively sound too.
Moment of the match
⚽ ¡SIIIIIIIIIIUUUUUUU! A super strike! @lm19official clipped an excellent forward pass toward @Cristiano, who chested the ball down and broke into the box before striking a low shot past Dmitrovic. VAMOS!#RMLiga | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/LKTM2JJ0MY
— Real Madrid C.F.???? (@realmadriden) March 10, 2018
Zinedine Zidane’s side had struggled for fluency in the opening 30 minutes but capitalised on a slack pass from Anaitz Arbilla and Modric unlocked the Eibar defence with a stunning first-time pass with the outside of his boot for Ronaldo to chest down and drill past Marko Dmitrovic.
Stat of the match
⚽ It’s that man again! @lm19official fed @DaniCarvajal92 out wide, and the defender played a perfect cross into the box. @Cristiano evaded the attention of the @SDEibar defenders and emphatically headed home from inside the six-yard box!#RMLiga | #HalaMadrid
— Real Madrid C.F.???? (@realmadriden) March 10, 2018
Ronaldo scored his 17th and 18th LaLiga goals of the season to ensure victory for Los Blancos at Eibar, but only four of the strikes came before the turn of the year. The Portuguese forward now has 14 league goals in his last eight matches and has scored in each of his last seven games in all competitions, netting 13 in total in that sequence.
Player ratings
? ¡Así ha celebrado Ramis el tanto del empate! #EibarRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/XQjmzy8bpt
— SD Eibar (@SDEibar) March 10, 2018
Eibar: Marko Dmitrov 8, Ander Capa 7, Ivan Ramis 8, Anaitz Arbilla 6, Jose Angel Cote 6, Gonzalo Escalante 7, Dani Garcia 8, Takashi Inui 7, Joan Jordan 8, Pedro Leon 7, Kike 7.
Subs: Paulo Oliveira (for Ramis, 67) 6, Pape Diop (for Escalante, 85) 6, Charles (for Inui, 87) N/A.
Real Madrid: Keylor Navas 6, Dani Carvajal 6, Raphael Varane 5, Sergio Ramos 4, Marcelo 6, Luka Modric 9, Casemiro 6, Toni Kroos 6, Isco 5, Gareth Bale 5, Cristiano Ronaldo 7. Subs: Nacho Fernandez (for Varane, 28) 5, Karim Benzema (for Kroos, 71) 5, Lucas Vasquez (for Isco, 71) 6.
Who’s up next?
Levante v Eibar (LaLiga, March 16)
Real Madrid v Girona (LaLiga, March 18)
