SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2014 SPORTS Ronaldo propels Real to 5-goal rout MADRID: Real Madrid ensured they will head into a big week full of confidence with a 5-0 thrashing of Levante ahead of their meetings with Liverpool and Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo stretched his fine scoring streak at club level to nine games as he opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Javier Hernandez headed home to double Madrid’s lead before half-time. Ronaldo powered home his 15th league goal in just seven appearances this season to make it 3-0 before sweet finishes from James Rodriguez and Isco rounded of a seventh consecutive win for the European champions. Madrid now lie just a point adrift of leaders Barcelona, but the Catalans can restore their four-point advantage with a win over Eibar later MUNICH: Bremen’s Alejandro Galvez from Spain (left) and Bayern’s Mario Goetze chal- yesterday. Real boss Carlo Ancelotti is hoping lenge for the ball during the German First Division Bundesliga soccer match. —AP Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos will be able to overcome their respective injury problems for the trip to Anfield Leaders Bayern today. “I think we are arriving well into this week. We had a difficult game to prepare here, but we played very well and seriously. We were very thrash Bremen concentrated and it all went well,” said Ancelotti. SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal celebrates scoring against Levante dur- “Now we have time to, firstly recover some ing a Spanish La Liga soccer match at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium. —AP BERLIN: Bundesliga leaders Bayern Champions League clash at Galatasaray. players, and then think about the game on And from the corner Modric had to make a with the goal at his mercy after Marino had done Munich earned their fifth straight victory “We played a type of football which Wednesday.” fine clearance off the line to prevent Victor well to parry his initial effort. And the only nega- yesterday as Spainiard Xabi Alonso net- makes absolutely no sense,” fumed Despite missing a host of first team players, Camarasa punishing Madrid’s slack marking. tive note from a fine afternoon for Ancelotti was ted his first Bundesliga goal in their 6-0 Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp. the visitors could still have put the game to bed Madrid made sure of the three points seven an injury suffered by the Croatian midfielder as rout of Werder Bremen. Dortmund’s Germany midfielders Ilkay inside the first 15 minutes as Ronaldo was minutes before half-time as Rodriguez’s in- he limped off to be replaced by debutant Alvaro Bayern warmed up for Tuesday’s Gundogan-who had been out for more uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal. swinging cross was turned home from close Medran 10 minutes from time. There was still Champions League clash at Roma by than a year-and Marco Reus returned The Portuguese captain sliced wide with just range by Hernandez to register his third goal for one moment of brilliance to come from the visi- maintaining their four-point lead at the from injury, but were powerless to stop Diego Marino to beat after a wonderful through the club. Ancelotti’s men stepped up a gear after tors as Isco again broke through midfield and top of the table, boosting their goal dif- Cologne taking a 1-0 lead as midfielder ball from Luka Modric and then pulled another the break and put the seal on another comfort- this time went alone to drill the ball into the top ference to plus 19 as former Germany Kevin Vogt fired home on 40 minutes. shot wide from the edge of the box moments able victory with three goals of pure quality. corner for his first goal of the season. captain Philipp Lahm and Mario Geotze Dortmund’s Italy striker Ciro Immobile later. Ronaldo doubled his tally for the afternoon as Meanwhile, in the week that he marked the Ronaldo, though, wasn’t to be denied on 12 both scored twice. equalised, but Cologne’s Simon Zoller he latched onto Isco’s through ball and cut 10th anniversary of his competitive debut for minutes as Hernandez was tripped inside the inside two Levante defenders before firing past Barcelona, Lionel Messi could become the all- “People say it’s hard to get back into it netted the hosts’ winner on 74 minutes area by Juanfran and the World Player of the Year Marino. time top scorer in the history of La Liga. after the international break, but we to seal their first win at home against slammed home the resulting penalty. Rodriguez then produced a stunning piece of The Argentine made his bow as a 17-year-old played well, had good positioning and Borussia since 2003. Levante reacted well to going behind and control as he took Toni Kroos’s lofted pass on his in a 1-0 win at city rivals Espanyol on October 16, good build-up,” said Bayern coach Pep The result sees Dortmund drop to came close to an equaliser twice in a matter of chest before volleying home on his favoured left 2004. Now he is preparing to face Eibar at the Guardiola. 14th in the table-just two points above seconds midway through the first-half as foot to make it four. Camp Nou needing just two goals to equal “It was a bit easier for us after Philipp the bottom three-while Cologne are Marcelo diverted Pape Diop’s effort inches past Madrid should have had a fifth 15 minutes Telmo Zarra’s all-time Spanish top-flight record scored the first goal. “Ok, we have three 10th. Bayer Leverkusen, who host Zenit his own goal. from time as Modric somehow side-footed wide of 251, set in the 1950s. —AFP points more, but our focus is now on the St Petersburg in the Champions League Champions League.” on Wednesday, threw away a three-goal Lahm started the rout when he lead in their 3-3 draw at plucky VfB crashed his shot home from 14 metres Stuttgart. Celtic run riot at Ross County out with 20 minutes gone at Munich’s A win would have seen Leverkusen go Allianz Arena. Alonso, who joined Bayern third, but the draw saw them drop to GLASGOW: A first-half goal glut helped Celtic that was the opposite of what we did. It is a The Ross County ‘keeper was picking the ball from Real Madrid in August, netted his sixth in the table. “You can see that these on their way to a 5-0 demolition of bottom-of- harsh lesson for the boys.” out of his net again just three minutes later. first goal for the club when he drove a footballers are still young and don’t have the-table Ross County yesterday to ease the After their loss at home to Hamilton before Stefan Johansen played a beautifully lofted pass free-kick under the Bremen wall on 27 much experience of hos brutal pressure on beleaguered Hoops boss Ronny the international break which saw the defending to Guidetti down the inside right channel and minutes. Bundesliga football can be,” lamented Deila. champions slump to sixth in the Scottish the Swedish striker squared the ball for Thomas Mueller put the hosts 3-0 up Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt, who is John Guidetti started the scoring at Victoria Premiership table, many pundits viewed the McGregor to rifle home on his return from injury. when he converted a penalty after being in his first season in charge. Park in the 11th minute before crossing for match in Dingwall as a must-win for Deila, who Johansen was also at the heart of the third dragged down in the area by Bremen’s Leverkusen raced into a 2-0 lead after Callum McGregor to slam home a second three has enjoyed a torrid start to his Celtic career. goal as he set up Stokes to score on the half- Sebastian Proedl on two minutes before only nine minutes as South Korea’s Son minutes later. hour mark. The Ross County defence parted as half-time. Heung-Min scored twice and could have Anthony Stokes curled home a third on the FIRED UP the Norwegian midfielder drove at them and he And Goetze made it 4-0 at the break had a hat-trick on 11 minutes when his half-hour mark with on-loan Manchester City Celtic captain Scott Brown accused his team- sent a weighted pass in to the path of Stokes when he held off Congo defender Assani lob hit the crossbar. defender Jason Denayer grabbing a fourth in the mates of “hiding” in his post-match analysis of who curled his first-time effort into the bottom Lukimya to bury his shot in the far cor- Germany’s Karim Bellarabi made it 3-0 36th minute. corner of the net. Irish striker Stokes added a fifth 10 minutes Ross County barely had time to recover ner. Lahm and Goetze both added their just before the break when he converted after the break as the Hoops ran riot. The win, before the Hoops forced a fourth past Brown in second goals as the hosts profited from a Son’s pass to leave Leverkusen in full only marred by a nasty injury to defender Emilio the 36th minute. The ‘keeper made a good save tiring defence in the final 20 minutes and control. Izaguirre, moves Celtic up to third in the table, to stop Mikael Lustig’s header from sneaking in the result left Bremen languishing bot- But Stuttgart battled back as midfield- six points behind leaders Hamilton Academical, but the County defence failed to clear the dan- tom of the table.