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Played
October 2, 2011 4:00 PM EDT
Estadi Cornellà-El Prat — Cornellà de Llobregat
Referee: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes
Attendance: 38000
October 2, 2011 4:00 PM EDT
Estadi Cornellà-El Prat — Cornellà de Llobregat
Referee: Fernando Teixeira Vitienes
Attendance: 38000
Goal.com Rating 
Fans' Rating Espanyol 0-4 Real Madrid: Higuain hits hat-trick and Callejon nets against old club as capital giant edges to within a point of Barcelona
The Argentine made light of the absence of Karim Benzema with a terrific treble as Jose Mourinho's men proved too good for their Catalan opponents.
By Ben Hayward
Gonzalo Higuain hit three goals as Real Madrid moved to within a point of Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Sunday night following a 4-0 win in the Catalan capital against Espanyol at Cornella.
Madrid, like Barcelona, was playing in black, and just as the club's arch-adversary had done earlier in the evening in Gijon, the capital club secured a hard-fought away success.
Higuain was in for the injured Benzema, one of a number of sidelined stars for coach Jose Mourinho, who was also missing Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Fabio Coentrao and long-term absentee Nuri Sahin.
Espanyol fell behind as Ronaldo received the ball from Kaka and set up Higuain on a quick counterattack, which the Argentine culminated by crashing a powerful right-footed angled drive into the top corner 17 minutes in.
Espanyol looked lively despite going behind and Iker Casillas made a fine save to deny Sergio Garcia, but it was all over as a contest as Higuain struck a brilliant second midway through the second period. The striker latched onto Alvaro Arbeloa's ball and lashed an unstoppable right-footed drive into the top right corner.
Home fans then applauded as former hero Jose Callejon was introduced as a substitute late in the game, but just five minutes later the summer signing had hurt his old club by finishing off a quick move after being set up by Ronaldo.
Higuain made it 4-0 in added time following a mistake from Hector Moreno to put a gloss on the scoreline and make it a night to remember for the Argentine and Madrid, which now has 13 points - one less than Barcelona.
Madrid, like Barcelona, was playing in black, and just as the club's arch-adversary had done earlier in the evening in Gijon, the capital club secured a hard-fought away success.
Higuain was in for the injured Benzema, one of a number of sidelined stars for coach Jose Mourinho, who was also missing Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Fabio Coentrao and long-term absentee Nuri Sahin.
Espanyol fell behind as Ronaldo received the ball from Kaka and set up Higuain on a quick counterattack, which the Argentine culminated by crashing a powerful right-footed angled drive into the top corner 17 minutes in.
Espanyol looked lively despite going behind and Iker Casillas made a fine save to deny Sergio Garcia, but it was all over as a contest as Higuain struck a brilliant second midway through the second period. The striker latched onto Alvaro Arbeloa's ball and lashed an unstoppable right-footed drive into the top right corner.
Home fans then applauded as former hero Jose Callejon was introduced as a substitute late in the game, but just five minutes later the summer signing had hurt his old club by finishing off a quick move after being set up by Ronaldo.
Higuain made it 4-0 in added time following a mistake from Hector Moreno to put a gloss on the scoreline and make it a night to remember for the Argentine and Madrid, which now has 13 points - one less than Barcelona.
Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
Goal.com Man of the Match
Goal.com Flop of the Match
Top & Flop Global Ranking
Fans' Man of the Match
Fans' Flop of the Match
Results
Times In EDT
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lionel Messi
Striker Barcelona |
50 | 10 |
|
Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker Real Madrid |
46 | 12 |
|
Radamel Falcao
Striker Atlético de Madrid |
24 | 5 |
|
Gonzalo Higuaín
Striker Real Madrid |
22 | 0 |
|
Karim Benzema
Striker Real Madrid |
21 | 0 |