Almeria vs. Real Madrid: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

Cristiano Ronaldo scored early, but made his exit shortly after the restart due to an apparent thigh problem, as Real Madrid coasted to a 5-0 win over Almeria Saturday.

Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Isco and Alvaro Morata also tallied for the guests, who temporarily pulled into a tie with city rivals Atletico Madrid for second place in La Liga, six points adrift of leaders Barcelona.

It took Ronaldo just three minutes to open his account at Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos, the Ballon d’Or favourite directing Daniel Carvajal’s cross past Almeria goalkeeper Esteban at the near post.

Barely two minutes later, Madrid quite nearly found themselves two goals to the good when Estaban denied both Ronaldo and Benzema in quick succession. But as it turned out, the capital side would have to wait until the second half to build their advantage.

In the meantime, Madrid ‘keeper Diego Lopez was forced into making a pair of excellent saves on Almeria frontman Rodri, and Esteban was also called on once again to keep Ronaldo at bay.

Shortly after the break, however, Ronaldo pulled up following a tackle from Aleix Vidal and had to be substituted for 20-year-old attacker Jese Rodriguez.

But the Portugal captain’s absence only seemed to spur his teammates on, and in the 61st minute—and mere moments after a shocking miss from Gareth Bale—Benzema had his goal after lashing a left-footed drive beyond the reach of Esteban.

From there, Madrid simply couldn’t stop scoring, and Bale put the match out of reach in the 72nd minute after he capitalized on a poor touch of the ball from Sebastian Dubarbier.

Isco added a fourth for the guests just three minutes later with a sublime shot from the edge of the box that somehow evaded Esteban’s outstretched hand. And with nine minutes remaining, another substitute—Alvaro Morata—rounded out the goalscoring after beating the offside trap to complete a superb bit of buildup play that began with former Sao Paulo midfielder Casemiro.

Key Player Grades

Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid: A

Substitutions
Player	Grade
Esteban	C+
Nelson	B
Pellerano	B
Trujillo	B-
Torsiglieri	C
Dubarbier	D-
Suso	B
Verza	B-
Azeez	C+
Vidal	C+
Rodri	C-
Diaz	C
Soriano	C
Tebar	C

The 28-year-old is enjoying a purple patch that makes other purple patches look pink. Although after putting his side in front, he was forced to exit the match with a thigh injury. Thankfully, the knock didn’t look all that serious, and he may well be available for the Champions League midweek.

Gareth Bale, Real Madrid: A

Substitutions
Player	Grade
Lopez	A
Carvajal	A-
Pepe	A
Ramos	A
Arbeloa	A
Illarramendi	A-
Alonso	A
Bale	A
Isco	A
Ronaldo	A
Benzema	A
Jese	A
Casemiro	A
Morata	A

Bale took a total of 10 shots Saturday, effectively replacing the offense that Ronaldo would have typically provided in the second half. His injury worries quite obviously behind him, he played superb football after the restart, not only scoring a goal but also completing an impressive 92 percent of his passes. 

Suso, Almeria: B-

The Liverpool loanee had one-half chance over the course of the 90 minutes, but other than that, he got very little joy opposite Alvaro Arbeloa. However, the 20-year-old did commit himself on the defensive side of the ball—something that will be one of Almeria’s few positive takeaways from this encounter.

What’s Next?

Next up for Almeria is an away match against Celta Vigo on Nov. 30, after which they’ll host Espanyol  on Dec. 15. Real Madrid, meanwhile, will welcome Galatasaray to the Bernabeu Wednesday before hosting Valladolid in exactly one week.

All statistics courtesy WhoScored.com.