La Liga
Dec 6, 2014 7.00pm
3
0
HT : 1 0
FT
  • Cristiano Ronaldo 35' goal
  • James Rodriguez 38' yellowcard
  • Cristiano Ronaldo 65' goal
  • Dani Carvajal 75' yellowcard
  • Alvaro Arbeloa 79' yellowcard
  • Cristiano Ronaldo 81' goal
  • Sergio Ramos 87' yellowcard
  • yellowcard Cabral 11'
  • yellowcard Jonny 35'
  • yellowcard Nolito 35'
  • yellowcard Pablo Hernandez 77'

Player Ratings: Real Madrid 3-0 Celta Vigo

Real Madrid 3-0 Celta Vigo

Cristiano Ronaldo struck a hat-trick as Real Madrid cruised to a 3-0 win over Celta Vigo for a record-equalling 18th successive victory in all competitions.

The Portuguese superstar stroked home a first-half penalty before adding two more in the second half to reach the 200-goal barrier in La Liga.

Victory saw Carlo Ancelotti's side emulate Barcelona's record of 18 straight victories in the 2005-06 season, and Los Blancos will usurp the Catalans if they beat Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League next week.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at who impressed and who didn't at the Bernabeu.


REAL MADRID

Goal

Iker Casillas: Quite literally did not have a shot to save all evening. (6/10)

Defence

Dani Carvajal: Brilliant right-back performance from the youngster, who finished the game in midfield to facilitate Arbeloa's introduction after Rodriguez went off injured. (7/10)

Sergio Ramos: Made his 300th Real Madrid appearance and will have enjoyed fewer quieter than this one tonight. (6/10)

Pepe : Like his centre-back partner, was largely untested, but did manage to keep the dangerous Larrivey quiet throughout. (6/10)

Marcelo: Effectively operated as a left-winger and bagged a good assist for Ronaldo's third goal. Excellent, tireless performance. (7/10)

Midfield

Asier Illarramendi: Excellent performance from the midfielder, who looks determined to capitalise on injuries to Sami Khedira and Luka Modric. Very little reason to remove him from the first XI based on this showing. (7/10)

Toni Kroos: Delivered some superb set-pieces, most of which deserved a goal. (6/10)

James Rodriguez: Pulled up injured on 52 minutes, but had not been enjoying his best game up to that point and often chose to shoot instead of passing to better-placed teammates. Slightly selfish display. (5/10)

Attack

Gareth Bale: Lacked some end product today, and should have scored, but fired straight at Sergio after opting for power ahead of placement. Not his best game. (5/10)

Karim Benzema: Had two good chances to get on the scoresheet, but fluffed both of them with shots that he perhaps should have passed on. (5/10)

Cristiano Ronaldo: There's very little more to say about Ronaldo as the Portuguese continues to break records. His treble tonight was a record 23rd hat-trick in Spanish football, taking him above Telmo Zarra and Alfredo di Stefano. (9/10)

Substitutes

Alvaro Arbeloa: Replaced Rodriguez and moved into right-back, but did not contribute as much offensively as Carvajal, who moved into midfield. (5/10)

Fabio Coentrao: Brought on with nine minutes remaining to sure things up at the back after replacing Benzema. Did little of note. (6/10)


CELTA VIGO

Goal

Sergio Alvarez: Sergio made a series of impressive stops, but could have perhaps prevented Ronaldo's second after getting a firm hand on the Portuguese's near-post volley. (6/10)

Defence

Hugo Mallo: Really struggled with the adventurous Marcelo in the second half, but made one or two key interventions in a good first-half performance. (5/10)

Gustavo Cabral: Went off injured midway through the second half but, like the three other members in Celta's back four, can take pride in his first-half showing. (6/10)

Andreu Fontas: Slightly culpable of playing one or two sloppy passes in dangerous areas and was fortunate not to have been punished for them. (4/10)

Jonny: Found himself targeted by Real early on, but stood up well to the challenge and made one crucial tackle to thwart Ronaldo before he could pull the trigger. Did concede the penalty, however. (6/10)

Midfield

Nemanja Radoja: Anchored the midfield quite well in the first half, but found himself growing more and more vulnerable as the match went on. (5/10)

Pablo Hernandez: Hernandez personified Celta tonight - good in the first half but struggled after the break. (4/10)

Michael Krohn-Dehli: Flashed one or two shots over the bar, but perhaps deserves a bit of credit for trying to make things happen for Celta. By no means their worst player. (6/10)

Fabian Orellana: Had Celta's best opportunity of the game by firing a shot narrowly wide of Casillas's post early in the second half. Subbed on 70 minutes. (5/10)

Attack

Nolito: Emerged as Celta's primary goal threat as the game grew older and fired a superb free kick into Casillas's side-netting, but he was never going to score tonight. (6/10)

Jaoquin Larrivey: Totally anonymous performance from the striker, who admittedly was given very little service to feed on. (4/10)

Substitutes

Augusto Fernandez: Looked good in possession at times, but he was too far afield to help his team. (5/10)

Santi Mina: Only had six minutes in which to make an impact. (5/10)


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