Madrid: Spanish football giants Real Madrid got back to winning ways to pile the pressure on title rivals, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, ahead of their Sunday showdown, when they cruised to a 3-0 home win against Espanyol in a La Liga match here.
No side have lost to Real Madrid as many times as Espanyol and the match stayed true to the norm Saturday. James Rodriguez put Real in front, finishing off a move involving forwards Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 12th minute, reports Xinhua.
Bale doubled Madrid’s lead with a magnificent free-kick after 28 minutes and defender Nacho Fernandez scored his first ever goal for the club to seal the win 16 minutes from time.
Defender Fabio Coentrao was harshly sent off just five minutes in the second half, but Espanyol were unable to exploit the fact their rivals played for 40 minutes with just 10 men.
Valencia, who beat Real Madrid a week ago, witnessed its goalkeeper Diego Alves save a penalty from Celta Vigo winger Fabio Orellana but was held to a 1-1 draw.
Meanwhile, hosts Malaga and Villarreal drew 1-1 at the La Rosaleda Stadium. (IANS)
