Getafe 0-3 Real Madrid

Nobody in the club’s history has scored more league goals away from home than Ronaldo, who netted what were his 27th and 28th league goals of the season. With Gareth Bale also scoring Real Madrid were comfortable winners despite reaching the break not having scored in the first half for the first time this season.

The magnitude of Ronaldo’s record is best appreciated in comparison with the man whose record he overtakes. Former captain and club legend Raul scored 87 goals away from home in the league in 271 matches. Ronaldo has scored 89 in 92 games. 

If the second half was all smiles and broken records the first was tough going for Madrid. The midday start meant directors from both sides had to replace the usual pre-match lunch or dinner with a breakfast at the club’s Alfonso Perez Coliseum and Real made a sleepy start to the game.

They took half an hour to muster their first real chance with James Rodriguez’ shot charged down after he was found with a Karim Benzema cross. The Frenchman was then fed by Bale but failed to beat Jordi Codina in the Getafe goal.

The former Real Madrid youth team keeper also saved from Bale as the home side frustrated Real. Getafe have taken 19 points of off Madrid in the last 10 years. Only five La Liga teams have a better record and true to form they made the first 45 minutes tough going for Carlo Ancelotti’s leaders. They might even had led after Pablo Sarabia – another former Real Madrid youth team player – raced away to feed Jorge Sammir only for the Brazilian-born Croatian to miss the chance.

Madrid were missing a Croatian of their own. Luka Modric will be out for another month and Real are starting to really missing his invention.

Toni Kroos is doing his best without him and it was his rasping left-foot shot that rattled the crossbar in the last piece of action of the first half.

In the second period Codina continued to frustrate his former club, saving from Isco who shot from distance. Madrid were being reduced to long shots until Benzema finally found a way through.

The Frenchman hasn’t scored for Madrid since November but nobody is panicking because everyone at the club knows how important his overall play is. He dribbled his way to the byline, lifted his head and found Ronaldo who had found space on the edge of the six-yard box with not a single blue-shirted player tracking his run.

Within two minutes the lead was doubled. This time it was Rodriguez who crossed from the left and Bale cutting in from the right stabbed the ball home with the outside of his left foot. The Welshman hobbled off in injury time after a kick on the calf from Emiliano Valazquez but he will be happy with what was another effective display.

Getafe hit the post late on but fell further behind when Ronaldo got his second. Rodriguez again loaded the bullets this time for the Portuguese to jump between two defenders and bullet a header past Codina. It was the third goal of a game already won but he celebrated it in his customary fashion – scoring for fun has never been so apt.

(dailymail.co.uk)