Real defy crisis talk as Barca extend lead

MADRID: Real Madrid moved back into the top four of La Liga by thumping lowly Deportivo La Coruna 7-1 on Sunday, with Cristiano Ronaldo ending a miserable run of league form with a late double.

But Barcelona still extended their lead to 11 points — and 19 ahead of Real — as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both hit a brace in a 5-0 romp at Real Betis.Ronaldo had only scored four league goals before Sunday’s clash with third-from-bottom Deportivo, but the Portuguese added Real’s fifth and sixth with a smart volley and a diving header as they moved back above Villarreal and into the Champions League places.

Villarreal had temporarily taken fourth with a 2-1 win over Levante on Saturday after beating Real at the Bernabeu for the first time ever last week.Gareth Bale and Nacho also bagged braces each side of half-time and Luka Modric curled home a 68th-minute beauty as Real came back from a shock early deficit, a 23rd-minute tap-in from Adrian, to romp to an emphatic victory and ease the pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane.

Real had come into Sunday’s match in crisis following some dismal performances that culminated in last week’s defeat to Villarreal, and the mess seemed to have grown deeper when Adrian tapped home Lucas Perez’s low cross.

However, the home side reacted immediately and by half-time were 2-1 up thanks to Nacho’s neat first-time strike and a superb curling effort from Bale. The floodgates opened in the second half, with Bale adding his second from a towering header and Luka Modric expertly whipping home Real’s fourth.

Ronaldo met Casemiro’s cross to make it five and then crashed home Lucas Vazquez’s cross, taking a boot in the face from Fabian Schar in the process. As Ronaldo was led off the pitch to have his bleeding head quickly patched up he asked to see the phone of one of Real’s medical staff and, pointing the camera at himself, used it to check the damage to his face.

Nacho completed the rout in the dying minutes.Atletico Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Girona on Saturday meant Barca extended their lead with victory.After a goalless first period, Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring on 59 minutes, converting a sublime pass from Suarez.

Messi thumped home the second from outside the box on 64 minutes before he and Rakitic teamed up to present Suarez with a volley on 69 minutes to effectively seal the three points.