Cristiano Ronaldo squandered the chance to put Real Madrid ahead by missing a 24th-minute penalty, but he made amends by netting from the spot two minutes before the half-time break in this afternoon's La Liga clash against Real Sociedad at the Bernabeu.
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The three-time Ballon d'Or winner blazed the ball over the crossbar from the spot kick in the 24th minute, which was the eighth penalty miss in his career at Real.
However, the Portuguese star was given the chance to make amends later in the half when Yuri Berchiche handled in the area.
Sociedad weathered a storm in the early stages of the first half, with goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli having plenty to do as he denied a header from Pepe, whose effort aimed for the underside of the crossbar, and he also stopped Ronaldo's low drive from inside the box in the eighth minute.
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Karim Benzema, who is making his 200th league appearance for Madrid, picked up the rebound from Ronaldo's shot, but Rulli comfortably denied him.
At the other end, Imanol Agirretxe managed to test Real keeper Keylor Navas by drilling a low shot towards the middle of the goal, but the shot-stopper was untroubled and managed to save.
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The penalty was awarded around 20 minutes from the half-time whistle after Benzema easily fell to the ground after being bumped by Carlos Martinez, and Ronaldo looked certain to score, but his attempt flew sky-high over the bar.
Madrid kept up the pressure and their star man was given another chance to slot home from the penalty spot when the referee penalised a handball offence from Yuri.
This time, Ronaldo made no mistake as he buried the ball into the right corner, giving his side a decent chance of ending 2015 with a win.
Danielle Joynson
