Video Goals Hilights : Real Madrid 5-0 Athletic Bilbao - La Liga



Cristiano Ronaldo's record-equalling 22nd La Liga hat-trick helped Real Madrid crush Athletic Bilbao and close to within four points of Barcelona. 

Ronaldo's third treble in four league games drew him level with the tallies of Real legend Alfredo Di Stefano and ex-Athletic striker Telmo Zarra.
Headers from Ronaldo and Karim Benzema put Real 2-0 up at half-time.
Ronaldo tapped in his second and set up Benzema for Real's fourth before deflecting Pepe's shot into the corner.
The ball appeared to come off Ronaldo's arm but the referee awarded the goal to complete an emphatic win.
It was the World Player of the Year's 13th goal in six league games and his 17th of the season in all competitions.

 Ronaldo's extraordinary goalscoring form has been central to Real Madrid's recovery from two defeats in their first three league games.

Since a 2-1 home reverse by city rivals Atletico Madrid on 13 September, Real have won six games in a row and scored 27 goals in the process.

They now sit fourth in the league table, one point above Atletico and four behind leaders Barca.

Their latest procession began as early as the second minute when Gareth Bale pinged a cross from the right to the far post and Ronaldo headed past Gorka Iraizoz from close range.

Athletic, who have now secured only one point in their last five league games and are 18th in the table, looked a shadow of the side that finished fourth last season as they wilted under relentless Real pressure.

With half-time approaching, Luka Modric floated a corner to the edge of the six-yard box where Benzema rose highest to double the home side's lead.

Slick interplay between Benzema and Bale teed up Ronaldo to slot in the third before the Portuguese raced on to Modric's incisive pass and squared for Benzema to tap in.

Ronaldo missed several chances to complete his hat-trick, only to get there in the 88th minute via a stroke of luck.

Pepe's scuffed effort struck Ronaldo's arm and flew past Iraizoz to round off another glorious night for the Real number seven, but a chastening one for the Basques. 

Video Goals Rayo Vallecano 0-2 Barcelona - La Liga



Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the La Liga clash between Rayo Vallecano and Barcelona.

The hosts endured a tough start to the season, failing to win any of their first four outings, but they come into this match on the back of two consecutives victories.

Barcelona, meanwhile, are the early pacesetters in the division having dropped just two points so far, but they were beaten 3-2 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

The Barcelona coach says it is to Malaga's credit that they kept the Argentina international quiet at La Rosaleda

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique says Malaga did well to keep Lionel Messi quiet in the two sides' 0-0 draw on Wednesday.

The Blaugrana failed to register a shot on target in the entire match in a frustrating evening which brought to an end their 100 per cent record so far this season.

Messi struggled for many meaningful openings, meaning he must wait to score his 400th senior career goal, but his coach believes the opposition deserve credit for keeping him on the fringes.

“The fact that Messi didn’t participate so much is a credit to Malaga," the 44-year-old told reporters.

"It’s clear that the more he participates, the more dangerous we are.

“For us, finding Messi is key – and if we find him we will be more dangerous.

"That was what we found most difficult and it’s clearly credit to our rival.”

The former Spain international also made clear that any criticism of his players would not be made in public.

"Self-criticism will come behind closed doors. These players do that when we win, so imagine [what happens] when things don't work out.

"There is a long way to go, but we are on the right track and we will look for solutions, not excuses.

"These players aren't machines - we are competing every three days."

Luis Enrique also defended the performance of debutant Douglas, who came in for criticism from some quarters after a largely anonymous display.

“Douglas? He was at the same level as his team-mates,” the coach added.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals over the weekend. And, at least check, hat tricks are very, very impressive.

But they are not that impressive to Ronaldo, who can score four goals in the following match and make it seven goals in his last two contests because he is superhuman.

On one hand, Ronaldo didn't score any amazing goals. There wasn't a powerful, knuckling, dipping free kick. There wasn't a 50-yard run. There wasn't a slew of stepovers that left three defenders on their behind.

On the other hand, HE SCORED FOUR GOALS AND HAS SEVEN IN THE LAST TWO MATCHES.

And he did it with a shirt on, too. We know how hard it is for Ronaldo to keep his shirt on.

Valencia vs. Real Madrid