Cristiano Ronaldo Makes the Difference in Real Madrid Win over Eibar

Cristiano Ronaldo notched two goals and an assist as Real Madrid continued their impressive winning streak with a 4-0 victory away against Eibar on Saturday.

The match was a real-life depiction of David v Goliath: the lowest budget in the league against the highest. Per Marco Ruiz of AS, Eibar’s seasonal budget of €15.6 million is nearly 34 times smaller than Madrid's (€530 million).

And it was the quality in the Madrid starting XI, and particularly that of Ronaldo—who will earn more than the entire Eibar squad put together over the course of the season—that proved to be the difference between the sides.

Pablo Polo of Marca made much of the compact nature of Eibar’s stadium prior to the match, noting that Gareth Bale’s Copa del Rey winner from last season would have been impossible at the Ipurua.

Indeed, at 103 by 65 metres, the pitch was nearly 10 percent smaller than the one Madrid are used to playing on at the Bernabeu (105 by 70 metres).

Therefore, it was to Carlo Ancelotti’s credit that he provided both Ronaldo and Bale with the freedom to move across the forward line in search of any space to be found.

Per FourFourTwo, Ronaldo received the ball across the whole width of the pitch.

Courtesy of FourFourTwo Stats Zone

It put a lot of pressure on the midfield three of Isco, Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez to cover the gaps in behind. And despite their tireless work, Madrid did at times look vulnerable on the counter-attack.

Iker Casillas was forced to make an excellent save from Saul Berjon’s close-range effort at the end of a quick Eibar break during the first half. Other potentially dangerous counters broke down due to poor selection or execution of passes.

But Ancelotti’s risk paid off at the other end of the pitch, where moments of genuine quality propelled his side to yet another three points.

The first Madrid goal, scored by Rodriguez, should have been disallowed for offside. It did, though, feature a lovely bit of skill by Ronaldo in the build-up, which saw him flick the ball up over a sliding challenge to make space for a cross.

When Karim Benzema’s miscued shot diverted the ball back into his path, Ronaldo centered for Rodriguez to nod home at the far post.

Ronaldo then scored the second himself, striking Dani Carvajal’s cutback off his standing leg and into the back of the net after good initial work by Bale.

The Portuguese international also produced a lovely pass around the corner to Bale for an effort that flashed past the post late in the first half and teed up Isco for a shot that went just wide during the second.

He finished his afternoon’s work by scoring his second goal of the match from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute after Raul Albentosa had been somewhat harshly penalised for handling his on-target free-kick.

The two goals further embellished Ronaldo’s incredible scoring statistics in the current campaign, as noted by Barcelona-based writer Ben Hayward.

Ronaldo has scored in every Primera Division match in which he has been involved so far this season. And per Sergio Gomez of AS, he is closing in on Madrid’s top three historical goalscorers. Ronaldo is now 13 strikes away from equalling Santillana’s 290 goals in a Madrid shirt, with just Alfredo Di Stefano (307) and Raul (323) to beat.

The victory was Madrid’s 14th consecutive win in all competitions and saw them maintain their place at the head of the Primera Division table. They are a united group—as emphasised by Marcelo in an interview with AS earlier this week—and are determined to win silverware this season.

"The team is well and the players are motivated and doing a tremendous job," Ancelotti said after the match, as per Inside Spanish Football. "The season is a long one and we have to continue with that attitude."

If Ancelotti continues to get the major decisions right and players like Ronaldo keep producing the goods, domestic and European honours look to be well within Madrid’s reach.

With a relatively easy run-up to Christmas, there is certainly little indication that their current winning run will come to an end any time soon.