Sporting vs. Real Madrid: Score and Reaction from 2017 La Liga Match

Real Madrid hit back from a goal down to win 3-2 at Sporting Gijon on Saturday as Isco finished off a heroic brace in the 90th minute to move Los Blancos six points clear at La Liga's summit.

The midfielder first responded to Duje Cop's 14th-minute breakthrough before adding his second in the game's dying minutes, with Alvaro Morata cancelling out Mikel Vesga's headed effort earlier in the second half.

Real manager Zinedine Zidane handed league starts to Morata, Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio, with Nacho and Sergio Ramos the only surviving starters from Wednesday's 2-1 UEFA Champions League victory over Bayern Munich.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale were all rested in preparation for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Der FCB, although Sky Sports Statto indicated they can cope without their usual forward trio:

Sporting always appeared destined to welcome a barrage of pressure after manager Joan Francesc Ferrer started with five in defence, meaning Real's midfield was able to develop an iron grip over possession early on.

However, it was Sporting who struck first through Cop after 14 minutes, when he got on the end of a superb Vesga chip over the top to end a Gijon hoodoo lasting more than two decades, per beIN Sports' Jacob Grimse:

That turned out to be Sporting's only shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, per WhoScored.com, and Isco made up for earlier misses just three minutes after Cop's incision to pull Real level thanks to some silky footwork inside the area.

Vazquez's ball inside found its way to Isco on the edge of the box before he dug out enough space to fire into the top-left corner, extending Los Blancos' record run of consecutive games scoring across all competitions:

Although Zidane's men had more than two-thirds of possession running in their favour at the interval, it was again the hosts who took the initiative after the restart as Vesga got on the scoresheet.

Five minutes into the second period, his looping header found its way over Real goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, and ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan hinted Athletic Bilbao may be pleased to see their loaned acquisition performing so well:

And yet Real's reserves gathered enough composure to equalise soon after once again, this time with Morata producing a good header at the far post to penetrate the home outfit's defence for the second time in the match.

Stand-in right-back Danilo sent a pinpoint cross in front of Ivan Cuellar's goal for his Spanish team-mate to convert, and Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney highlighted the ball in as the real highlight of the manoeuvre:

The shot count trickled up in Real's favour as the visitors pressed their advantage, and it wasn't until the final minute of normal time that Isco provided the polished touch the guests had been seeking.

The Spain international opened up just enough space to get a shot off from the edge of the box and cut it inside Cuellar's left post, and broadcaster Jan Aage Fjortoft questioned if it might prove to be a title-winning strike:

Real can't afford to rest on their laurels as they now prepare for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern, a fixture made simpler by last Wednesday's 2-1 turnaround in Germany.

Meanwhile, Sporting remain mired in the relegation zone and will need a positive result against fellow basement-dwellers Osasuna next time out to keep dreams of top-flight football for next season alive.