MADRID: Real Madrid overcame the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and other regular starters on Wednesday, coming from behind to win 3-1 at neighbours Lega­nes in a match postponed from last year and move back up to third place in La Liga.

Leganes defender Unai Bustinaza gave the home side the lead in the sixth minute by cashing in on some slack defending by Real, sliding in at the back post to knock the ball towards goal and then bundling in the rebound after poor goalkeeping from Kiko Casilla.

Spanish winger Lucas Vazquez pulled the champions back into the game five minutes later by latching on to a backheel by Casemiro and arrowing his finish into the far bottom corner.

Vazquez then returned the favour to Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, who finished off a slick passing move to give Real the lead in the 29th, while Real captain Sergio Ramos rounded off the scoring by converting a penalty in stoppage time.

The match was rescheduled from the 16th round because of Real’s participation in the Club World Cup in December, a competition they won. Real, who made one of their worst starts to a season in recent memory, are starting to resemble the ruthless side that swept to the Champions League and Liga titles last season.

This was their fourth consecutive win and their third straight victory after falling behind, following their comeback victories over Paris St Germain and Real Betis. Real have 48 points after 24 games, 14 behind leaders Barcelona and seven behind second-placed Atletico Madrid.

“It’s another win, the fourth in a row and it’s important to get the points,” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane, who rested Ronaldo for this rescheduled fixture.

“We’re happy, we’re third in the table and that’s an important result for us. We want to continue like this, we have had hard times so we want to take advantage of this good spell.”

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2018