The big news: Ronaldo on target twice

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace as Real Madrid beat Sporting Gijon 2-1 to extend their lead on top of the La Liga table on Saturday. Ronaldo’s double takes him up to 10 La Liga goals for the season, two goals ahead of arch-rival Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo first netted from the spot as Madrid were an awarded a penalty in the fifth minute of the game. Sporting Gijon were outclassed in all departments as Real continued to dominate. Ronaldo once again scored in the 18th minute to send Gijon further back.

But, Carlos Carmona pulled one back for Gijon. However, the scoreline remained the same as the goals dried up after that. With the win, Real open up a seven point gap over defending champions Barcelona who are second. This makes next week’s El Clasico all the more interesting.

Other top stories

  1. Chelsea came back from a goal down to end Tottenham’s undefeated run in the Premier League by beating them 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. The Spurs took the lead with Christian Eriksen’s left-footed strike putting them in front. However, Pedro Rodriguez gave them an equalizer just before the first half ended. Victor Moses scored the winner minutes after the second half began for the win.
  2. Liverpool beat Sunderland 2-0 as Phillippe Coutinho was stretchered out after a bad tackle by Dider Ndong. Tests and scans have to be done to reveal the exact impact of the tackle and the duration that will keep the Brazilian away from football. 
  3. Manchester City beat Burnley 2-1 as Sergio Aguero scored twice for the win. Dean Marney put the hosts ahead in the 14th minute to gain the lead. However, Aguero upped his game to give his side a crucial win in the end.   
  4. NorthEast United’s late surge powered them to a 3-3 draw against Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Chennai on Saturday. Chennaiyin looked set to keep their semi-final aspirations alive as Dudu completed his hat-trick to give his side a 3-2 lead. NorthEast though equalised in the 7th minute of stoppage time through Shouvik Ghosh to stun Chennai. 
  5. The former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro revealed that she received death threats following her exit from the club. She also added that not enough is being done to tackle sexism in football. Carneiro left Chelsea in 2015 after public criticism from the then manager, José Mourinho. “Even though I don’t have a presence on social media – I think I have made one post ever in my life – some of the threats of sexual violence and death threats make it through,” Carneiro told the Telegraph, reported The Guardian. “They [the abusers] just seem to be faceless cowards and they should be answerable to legislation.”
  6. Wayne Rooney can breathe a sigh of relief as he will not face disciplinary action following his late-night conduct while on England duty during the World Cup qualifiers recently. The Manchester United striker apologised over the pictures of him surfaced a day after England’s World Cup qualifying win over Scotland.