Real Madrid 2 - 0 Valencia: Cristiano Double Seals Win

If Real Madrid were looking for the perfect tonic after Mondays thrashing at the hands of Barcelona, they found it against a dogged Valencia. Cristiano Ronaldo was the hero once more as his clinical double was enough to see Madrid past a Valencia side that gave as much as they got in an absorbing encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu.

As expected, Unai Emery opted for a more defence-minded formation, placing Maduro, Albelda and Tino Costa in the centre of the park. And the midfield threesome did their job admirably in a hard-fought opening 45 minutes as Real Madrid struggled to find any fluency in attack. Cristiano Ronaldo flitted in and out of the match, while Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria laboured to little effect either side of the Portuguese wizard.

The start of the second half followed a similar pattern and it wasn’t until the dubious sending off of David Albelda that Real Madrid really got a footing in the match. Albelda received a second yellow card for handball, although the ball clearly struck the veteran on the shoulder. All those connected with Valencia claim this isn’t the first time they’ve been on the wrong end of refereeing decisions at the Bernabeu, and it was hard not to feel sorry for them.

The final 25 minutes were always going to be tough for the visitors with only ten men on the pitch and so it proved as Cristiano Ronaldo took centre stage to set Real Madrid en route to victory. The first arrived on 72 minutes and it came courtesy of a stunning through ball from Ozil that set Ronaldo free in the area. Young Valencia keeper Guaita had put in a commendable shift between the sticks, but he was powerless to prevent Ronaldos rocket flying past him and into the net.

The second arrived four minutes from time, and it was a goal that epitomised what Cristiano Ronaldo is all about. Receiving the ball from Lass Diarra 40 yards from goal, a burst of pace and a couple of stepovers created space on the right-hand side of the box, before he fired an unstoppable shot into the opposite corner. With Gonzalo Higuain out injured, much of Madrids hopes rest on Cristianos shoulders and he didn’t disappoint.