Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo scored at the latter end of either half as Real Madrid overcame a testing match at Eibar to win 2-0.
Bale’s header broke the deadlock towards the end of a first half which witnessed very few chances, while Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot after 82 minutes to ensure Madrid took the points and got back to normality after their thrashing at the hands of Barcelona the week before.
Madrid stay third thanks to the win and also recorded a much-needed clean sheet after shipping 10 goals in their previous three games. Bale and Ronaldo’s goals were also much-needed: the Welshman had not scored for Madrid since August and this was just his third goal of the season, while Ronaldo netted for the first time in three league games.
Rafael Benitez made three changes to the side humbled by Barcelona last weekend, bringing Dani Carvajal and Nacho in for the injured Marcelo and Sergio Ramos, while Mateo Kovacic came in for Karim Benzema as Madrid employed a 4-4-2 shape, with Bale partnering Ronaldo in attack.