MADRID — Gareth Bale injured himself in the warmup and was forced to wait for his Bernabeu debut, but Real Madrid did not miss him as Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win over Getafe in La Liga on Sunday.
Reuters
The world’s most expensive player was set to start against Getafe, having featured in only two away games since joining for €100 million three weeks ago, but was forced to make way for another new recruit, Isco, just before kickoff.
Getafe’s Angel Lafita made the most of another sluggish start from Real, though normal order was soon restored when Pepe equalised in the 19th minute and Ronaldo scored with a penalty in the 33rd as the chances fell thick and fast.
Isco grabbed his fourth of the campaign after the break, and after Getafe were reduced to 10 men, Ronaldo grabbed his second at the end with a clever backheel.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side moved up to third with 13 points from five games, two behind joint leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who both maintained perfect starts with wins on Saturday.
Pedro scored a hat-trick as the champions won 4-0 at Rayo Vallecano, and Atletico are second on goal difference after a 2-0 victory at Real Valladolid.
Promoted Villarreal remained unbeaten on their return to the top flight but slipped to fourth with 11 points, after being held to a 0-0 draw at Celta Vigo.
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Brazilian striker Jonas scored twice to help Valencia to a 3-1 home win over bottom side Sevilla, easing the pressure on new coach Miroslav Djukic after four straight defeats in all competitions.
Jonas stroked in the opener late in the first half, and after Sevilla equalised just after the break, he struck a wonderful low shot from outside the area. Victor Ruiz looped in a header for the third in the 82nd minute.
“We came into this game under pressure after recent results, but today (Sunday) we proved we are Valencia, a strong team, who are going to fight for the top spots in the table,” Jonas told Canal Plus.
Valencia climbed to ninth with six points, one ahead of Real Betis in 12th, who drew 0-0 at home with Andalusian rivals Granada.
A third goalless draw in four outings for Pepe Mel’s Betis showed they continue to struggle without last season’s injured top scorer Ruben Castro.
