Real Madrid vs Eibar. Spanish La Liga.
Santiago BernabeuAttendance63,705.
Sunday 22 October 2017 22:43, UK
A Paulo Oliveira own goal, Marco Asensio's half-volley and Marcelo's fine strike was enough for Real Madrid to comfortably beat Eibar 3-0 in La Liga on Sunday.
Oliveira's looping header (17) put Real ahead before Asensio swept home a fine strike (28) to send Real Madrid into a commanding lead before half-time.
The current champions had good opportunities in the second half through Isco and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Eibar goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic doing well to deny the hosts from extending the scoreline further, before substitute Marcelo made it three with a well-placed strike in the 81st minute.
Victory for Zinedine Zidane's men moves them above fierce rivals Atletico into third in La Liga and five points behind Barcelona, who beat Malaga 2-0 on Saturday.
After Isco's glorious close-range miss in the second minute, Eibar began the game the better of the two sides as Joan Jordan fired an early warning shot at Kiko Casilla before the visitors enjoyed a fruitful spell of possession.
But despite Eibar's confident start, Madrid took the lead through Oliveira's own goal as he floated his header past his own goalkeeper when he tried to clear Asensio's cross. Ten minutes later and Asensio doubled Madrid's advantage as he swept home Isco's cross on the half-volley to score his fourth goal in five games against Eibar.
Eibar responded brightly to the two-goal deficit as they continued to pose a threat on the counter-attack, including Cote's dangerous shot from outside the box which whisked by the post, but Zidane's side went into half-time ahead.
Less than five minutes into the second half and Isco nearly made it three after he broke into a one-on-one, but was denied once again by Dmitrovic, who used his feet to make the save. He then pulled off a similar stop against Ronaldo in the 66th minute.
With Real in cruise control for the rest of the half, substitute Marcelo put the icing on the cake with a finely-placed strike eight minutes from time.
The Brazil international picked up Karim Benzema's neat pass and swivelled before firing his shot low into the bottom corner past the helpless Dmitrovic to secure Madrid a much-needed three points.
The 21-year-old Spain international put in another superb display in a Real Madrid shirt as he contributed a goal an assist on a night where Ronaldo was a step off the pace.
Asensio left the pitch in the 64th minute to a standing ovation, highlighting just how well loved he is among the Madrid faithful.
Real Madrid travel to Fuenlabrada in the Copa del Rey on Thursday night. Eibar, meanwhile, face Celta Vigo in the same competition on Wednesday.
