Ronaldo lifts Real to comeback win at Almeria
Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael van Vaart kept Real Madrid’s hopes of wresting the La Liga title from arch rivals Barcelona alive when they struck in a 2-1 comeback win at mid-table Almeria on Thursday.
Barca followed up Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Real with a 3-0 home win over Deportivo Coruna on Wednesday to go six points clear on 83 but Real’s battling victory over the Andalucians has trimmed the gap back to three with six games left.
Albert Crusat had given Almeria a shock lead in the 14th minute at their Juegos Mediterraneos stadium before Ronaldo sliced through the home defence to level in the 27th.
Real midfielder Guti struck a low shot against the post three minutes later and Gonzalo Higuain had an effort cleared off the line before Van der Vaart lashed home from just outside the penalty area in the 69th.