Real Madrid vs. Osasuna: Score and Reaction from 2016 LaLiga Match
Real Madrid continued their winning start to the 2016-17 campaign on Saturday after a 5-2 victory over 10-man Osasuna saw them temporarily move three points clear at LaLiga's summit.
Cristiano Ronaldo needed just six minutes to open the scoring in his first start of the season, while defensive duo Danilo and Sergio Ramos followed their team-mate onto the scoresheet before half-time.
Pepe and Luka Modric took Real's tally to five before Oriol Riera and defender David Garcia pulled two goals back for the visitors in the second period.
Despite Ronaldo's scoring return to the lineup, Saturday's result was more one for the defenders to savour for their contributions in attack, per OptaJose:
Osasuna's defence came to the Santiago Bernabeu hoping to hold back a Real attack that had already bagged five times in two games this season. But with Ronaldo back in the mix, it was almost a futile effort.
Danilo's chipped pass down the right flank found Gareth Bale despite a question of offside, and the Welshman laid it on a plate for his Portuguese team-mate at the far post, per football writer Sid Lowe:
A total of 62 days had passed between the UEFA Euro 2016 final and Saturday's LaLiga encounter, but Portugal's title-winning terror took no time at all to settle back into his club setting.
Euro 2016 opponent-turned-colleague Bale was also in fine form for Los Blancos early on, with a few close scoring chances of his own to speak of. Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC highlighted the power balance between him and Ronaldo:
Real manager Zinedine Zidane was made to wait before his side could build on their lead, but Danilo finally fired in Los Merengues' second on the 40-minute mark to relieve some of their burden.
Osasuna goalkeeper Nauzet Perez attempted to clear his lines with a bumbling fist, but Danilo was lurking on the edge of the area to slam inside the left post from range, and OptaJose credited his offensive output:
It quickly became a more memorable outing for Zidane's defence, too, when Ramos headed in a Toni Kroos corner at the front post, cementing his place as one of LaLiga's elite totems, per WhoScored.com:
That five-minute spree on goal gave Real Madrid something to smile about heading in at the break, and it showed, as the Bernabeu hosts took little time to resume their scoring run after the restart.
Osasuna's set-piece weakness was once again exposed, this time by Ramos' partner Pepe, who nodded past Nauzet from the edge of the six-yard box, leading Goal's Ben Hayward to note the diverse pattern emerging:
It was true Real were unearthing opportunities from every angle, but it wasn't long before Osasuna finally found a breakthrough of their own.
Modric thundered home his first league goal since April with a sizzling strike from the edge of the area, but it took Riera just two minutes to reply with a looping header over Real No. 1 Kiko Casilla. Despite the deficit being reduced, BBC Sport's Andy West wasn't impressed:
Osasuna had their chance to cut the gulf back even further, too, after Ramos hacked down a defender trying to make amends for losing the ball. But Casilla saved Roberto Torres' attempt from 12 yards out.
Garcia succeeded where Torres could not and stormed a booming header past Casilla to take the deficit down to three, but Real's work for the afternoon was close to complete.
Any hopes of an Osasuna comeback appeared to have been dashed when full-back Tano conceded his second caution in four minutes and was sent for an early shower shortly before the full-time whistle.
Karim Benzema, who was brought on as a second-half substitute for Ronaldo, had the last scoring chance of the game, but he could only glance the crossbar with his last-ditch effort to take Real to six.
Real Madrid's attention now turns to the group stage of this season's UEFA Champions League. Sporting Lisbon make their way to the Spanish capital on Wednesday hoping to cause an upset.
Osasuna, meanwhile, have a break and a chance to reassess before they resume their season at home to Celta Vigo next Sunday, still searching for their first win of the 2016-17 campaign.
Post-Match Reaction
All eyes were on Ronaldo coming into Saturday's clash against Osasuna, and the Portugal ace didn't fail to impress upon making his first start of the 2016-17 season.
Zidane was full of praise for his forward when addressing the media in his post-match press conference, too, praising his "special touch," per Spanish newspaper AS:
"I hope the scores a lot of goals. He’s beating all the records one buy one and I’m sure he’ll get to 100 (Champions League) goals. He’s got that special touch on the big occasions. He always creates danger and it’s good he got his early goal."
Zidane also detailed Ronaldo's substitution off for Benzema with just under 30 minutes remaining was all about preservation of the player and nothing else: "“I didn’t discuss anything with him. I simply enjoyed seeing him out there on the pitch. I always want him with me. Let’s see on Wednesday how much he’ll play. We’ve got seven games in 21 days coming up.”
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