MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo’s record-breaking 25th La Liga treble maintained Real Madrid’s title aspirations as they ended Sevilla’s 34-game unbeaten run at home with a 3-2 win on Saturday.

Ronaldo almost single-handedly dealt Sevilla their first loss at the Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium since February 2014 as the European champions remained two points behind league leaders Barcelona with three games to play.

The game swung massively in Real’s favour in the space of two first-half minutes whilst Sevilla were down to 10 men as Grzegorz Krychowiak was off the field receiving treatment for a facial injury.

Ronaldo headed home an Isco cross after 36 minutes and Javier Hernandez flicked on a James Rodriguez cross to the Portuguese who beat keeper Sergio Rico from six yards.

Sevilla were handed a route back into the game when Sergio Ramos upended Aleix Vidal inside the area in first-half stoppage time and Carlos Bacca converted from the penalty spot.

Ronaldo looked to have sealed the three points with a stunning header from Gareth Bale’s cross midway through the second-half.

However, Vicente Iborra reduced the deficit once more from as he swept home Vidal’s cross but Real hung on for the victory ahead of their visit to Juventus for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.

Champions Atletico Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw by Athletic Bilbao but remained in the driving seat for third place with a seven-point lead over Valencia who have a game in hand.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2015

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