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Played
December 3, 2011 12:00 PM EST
Estadio Municipal El Molinón — Gijón
Referee:‬ Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez‎
Attendance:‬ 27000‎
 
 
 
 
Marcelo 90+2′
Top of the Match
Á. di María
Á. di María
Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid
Flop of the Match
Damián Suárez
Damián Suárez
Sporting Gijon
Sebastián Eguren
Sebastián Eguren
Sporting Gijon

Sporting 0-3 Real Madrid: Di Maria, Ronaldo and Marcelo on target as Jose Mourinho's men collect the points at El Molinon

A 10th league win in a row for Los Blancos ensures they remain clear of rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga ahead of next weekend's Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu

By Charlie Scott

Goals from Angel Di Maria, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo were enough for Real Madrid to secure a 3-0 victory over Sporting Gijon in an ill-tempered La Liga game at El Molinon on Saturday evening.

The away side dominated the early stages of the game, with Lassana Diarra and Sami Khedira bossing proceedings from the center of Madrid's midfield, much to the vocal home support's disdain.

Ronaldo fashioned the first real chance of the game, finding space on the edge of the box but then shooting high and wide with his left foot.

Di Maria was then unfortunate to see his thunderous effort parried away by Juan Pablo after Marcelo had done well to pick out the Argentine on the edge of the Sporting box.

Marcelo was finding all sorts of joy getting forward from left back as the half wore on with Sporting resorting to illegal means to stop the Brazilian at times.

The Uruguayan Sebastien Eguren was the first to find his way into the referee's book, after scything down the left back after 25 minutes, with Oscar Trejo and David Barral following him into Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez‎'s book shortly afterwards.

Despite Gonzalo Higuain having a goal chalked off for offside, Madrid did not have long to wait for its opening goal. Just minutes later Di Maria robbed Damien Suarez of possession down the left before cutting inside and firing a cute finish past Juan Pablo from a tight angle.

Sporting perhaps should have equalized on the hour mark when Botia headed wastefully wide after Miguel de las Cuevas whipped an inviting free-kick to the back-post.

De las Cuevas then did well again to jink his way into the Madrid box, with the ball falling to David Barral just wide of the goal, but his tame effort was easily saved by Iker Casillas.

Ronaldo made it 2-0 to the visitors with 65 minutes gone, after he and Di Maria exchanged passes on the edge of the box. The Argentine winger then slid a perfectly weighted ball through to his Portuguese teammate, who drifted past Juan Pablo before firing enthusiastically into an empty net.

A terrific save from Juan Pablo then denied Higuain from making it 3-0, after the forward had been played in by the in-form Ronaldo.

Sporting's Sebastian Eguren was given his marching orders 10 minutes from the end, after receiving his second booking of the game.

Madrid did eventually add a third in injury time through Marcelo, after the Brazilian burst through on goal and fired a confident finish past Juan Pablo.

This victory cements Madrid's position in first place of La Liga regardless of Barcelona's result later on this evening, while Sporting remains in the relegation zone with just 12 points from 14 games.

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Sporting Gijon

1
Juan Pablo
Goalkeeper
2.5
15
Canella
Defender
2.5
2
Botía
Defender
2.5
12
2.5
17
Damián Suárez
Midfielder
2.0
20
De las Cuevas
Midfielder
2.5
21
Nacho Cases
Midfielder
47′
2.5
3
André Castro
Midfielder
67′
2.5
8
Sebastián Eguren
Midfielder
22′ 80′
2.0
24
Trejo
Striker
27′ 73′
2.5
23
David Barral
Striker
24′ 79′
2.5

Real Madrid

2.5
1
Iker Casillas
Goalkeeper
3.0
12
Marcelo
Defender
92′
3.0
4
Sergio Ramos
Defender
2.5
3
Pepe
Defender
3.0
15
Fabio Coentrao
Midfielder
49′
3.5
7
Cristiano Ronaldo
Midfielder
65′
2.5
24
Lassana Diarra
Midfielder
2.5
10
Mesut Özil
Midfielder
81′
2.5
6
Sami Khedira
Midfielder
4.0
22
Á. di María
Striker
34′ 56′ 65′ 74′
2.5
20

Substitutes

25
Pichu Cuéllar
Goalkeeper
-
14
-
5
Rivera
Midfielder
-
16
-
10
Nacho Novo
Striker
73′
2.5
19
Sangoy
Striker
67′
2.5
9
Mate Bilic
Striker
27′ 79′
2.5

Substitutes

-
13
Adán
Goalkeeper
2.5
18
-
16
Hamit Altintop
Midfielder
2.5
8
Kaká
Midfielder
81′
-
5
Nuri Sahin
Midfielder
2.5
9
Karim Benzema
Striker
75′ 92′
-
21
Callejón
Striker
22′

Coach/Manager

-
-

Coach/Manager

-
-
 
  • 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
 
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi
Striker
Barcelona
50 10
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker
Real Madrid
46 12
Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao
Striker
Atlético de Madrid
24 5
Gonzalo Higuaín Gonzalo Higuaín
Striker
Real Madrid
22 0
Karim Benzema Karim Benzema
Striker
Real Madrid
21 0