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| Monday, 22 February 2010 00:19 |
Spain: Ronaldo dedicates goal to MadeiraLa Liga round-up Cristiano Ronaldo demonstrated his support for the people of Madeira by dedicating his spectacular goal in this evening’s 6-2 victory over Villarreal to his home islands.
A native of Madeira’s capital, Funchal, Ronaldo took to the field at the Santiago Bernabeu tonight with a pre-prepared message of support, following the extreme floods and mudslides that have left over 40 people dead, hundreds injured and caused extensive damage to the Portuguese islands over the last few days. Ronaldo took just seventeen minutes to provide himself with the opportunity to show his solidarity, with the 25-year-old putting his side ahead in stunning fashion. The former Manchester United man beat Villarreal goalkeeper Diego Lopez with a thunderous free-kick that flew into the top right-hand corner, after which Ronaldo raised his shirt to expose a t-shirt with ‘Madeira’ written in capitals. Kaka made it two for the home side just minutes later, but Marcos Senna’s goal meant Real went into the break 2-1 up. Gonzalo Higuain made it 3-1 (54) before Nilmar (66) again got Villarreal back into it, but Higuain struck once more twenty minutes from time to restore Real’s two-goal advantage. Kaka (79) and Xabi Alonso (87) added further goals to give Real an impressive scoreline. The result means Real stay two points behind Barcelona at the top of La Liga, after the champions hammered Racing Santander 4-0 at Camp Nou. Third-placed Valencia, with Portuguese internationals Miguel and Manuel Fernandes, host Getafe at the Mestalla tomorrow evening as they continue their fight for a Champions League place. Elsewhere, Mallorca slip down from 4th to 6th place after their 100% home record came to a halt with a 3-1 defeat to Sevilla at the Son Moix. Jose Nunes played in defence for the islanders, in a match that saw three men sent off: one for the hosts; two for Sevilla. Deportivo La Coruna remain in 5th as Ze Castro watched their 2-1 win over Xerez from the bench. It was a disappointing weekend for Atletico Madrid, who conceded an 88th-minute goal to lose 1-0 at Almeria with both Tiago Mendes and Simao Sabrosa in the line-up. Meanwhile, Duda played the full match as Malaga beat Espanyol 1-0, Eliseu was subbed in Zaragoza’s 3-1 home loss to Sporting Gijon and Vitor Pele was not called from the sidelines as Valladolid were held 1-1 at Osasuna. By Sean Gillen Keep up to date with all the latest news on Portuguese football with the new PortuGOAL Twitter! |
Forca Ronaldo!