Cristiano Ronaldo keeps Real Madrid run going, Barcelona cursed again

After a hard-fought 2-1 victory at home to Sporting Gijon, Zinedine Zidane admitted his side did not play as he wanted.
Four things from the weekend as Real Madrid won despite not playing well, Barca's Anoeta curse continued and Atletico picked up a comfortable victory.

1. Zinedine Zidane cautious but Ronaldo confident

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane was pretty honest when speaking after Saturday's 2-1 win at home to Sporting Gijon -- admitting that it was a game best forgotten quickly in which his team had lacked "a bit of everything" and the only positive was the three points to keep them clear in the table.

Afterwards, Zidane was not keen to dwell too long on Madrid's unbeaten record stretching to 32 games -- matching the second longest run in the club's history, when he was assisting Carlo Ancelotti three years ago. The former Galactico preferred to recall the 2003-04 campaign when a Madrid team he played in had seemed set to sweep all before them: "I remember being a player here leading in all competitions, and then we won nothing that year."

The brightest spot in the Bernabeu rain on Saturday was two more goals for Cristiano Ronaldo -- a penalty and his first header of the season. Ronaldo is now leading La Liga's

Pichichi top scorer race, and of his 10 in total, eight have come in the last four games. He heads to the Camp Nou next weekend looking confident again, even if wear and tear is having an effect on his team at present.


The FC crew discuss the importance of Barcelona's clash with Real Madrid in their pursuit of the La Liga title.
2. Barca miracle point in cursed ground

Barcelona kicked off at Real Sociedad on Sunday night seven points off the top, and fully aware of their "cursed" record in recent seasons at Anoeta.

Luis Enrique's team certainly began the game as if under some sport of spell, with La Real dominating possession and territory and Xabi Prieto and Carlos Vela missing decent chances. Barca's usual midfield and possession play was pretty much non-existent -- with goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen completing more passes [just 22!] than any outfield teammate in the first 45 minutes.

It got even worse when, after Javier Mascherano's mistake, Gerard Pique helped Willian Jose's header into the net. Barca did hit straight back, with Lionel Messi firing in the equaliser after a brilliant run by Neymar but Real Sociedad continued to dominate and Carlos Vela hit the woodwork twice, while Juanmi had what would have been a deserved winning goal wrongly ruled out for offside.

"We played a disastrous game," Luis Enrique admitted afterwards. "The difference between the teams was so great that getting a point seems almost a miracle."

A point for Barca was at least better than the defeats on their last four visits to San Sebastian, but two more dropped points means that next Saturday's Clasico at the Camp Nou looks a must win for them.

3. Atletico get some welcome relief

There was something comfortably familiar about Atletico Madrid's 3-0 win at Osasuna on Saturday afternoon -- their first away victory in La Liga since early October.

First came Jan Oblak saving the first La Liga penalty of his career -- pushing away Roberto Torres' effort. Oblak had drawn plenty of (often unfair) comments from Real Madrid fans and pundits for his spot-kick record, but he guessed correctly here and saved well with the game still 0-0, earning praise from coach Diego Simeone afterwards.

Oblak's save was followed by Diego Godin heading in Koke's corner -- something often seen in recent years but quite amazingly Simeone's side's first set-piece goal of 2016-17. With normal service resumed, Kevin Gameiro almost immediately doubled Atletico's lead on the break, and after an uneventful second half substitute Yannick Carrasco ran clear to make it 3-0 late on.

There was a definite back-to-basics feel about the win, which offered some welcome relief after a rough month domestically, and lifted Atletico back into the top four.


Diego Simeone says the league has always been his priority.
4. Sevilla stumble on

Valencia matched up well against Jorge Sampaoli's high-flying Sevilla on Saturday evening at the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan. Cesare Prandelli's struggling side had less possession but more clear chances and did not deserve to lose on the balance of play.

Los Che substitute Munir El-Haddadi scored the game's best goal with an expert finish with the outside of his foot, and Rojiblanco keeper Sergio Rico was forced to make an excellent reflex stop from visiting substitute Jose Gaya in the very last minute.

But once again a fragility in defence, and particularly at set-pieces, let Valencia down. Both Ezequiel Garay's own-goal and Nico Pareja's winner were easily preventable. Pareja's scuffed 15 yarder was actually Sevilla's only shot on target all game. Barca's slip means Sampaoli's side climbed to second in the table, but they seem to be running out of gas after a fast start.