Ronaldo gets first La Liga goal of the season to earn Madrid a late win against Getafe
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first La Liga goal of the season to make up for an astonishing earlier miss and earn Real Madrid a hard-fought 2-1 win at Getafe.
Having missed the start of the season through suspension, Ronaldo had not found the net in his first three league appearances and that pattern looked set to continue in a largely frustrating contest against their neighbours.
Ronaldo almost opened the scoring in stunning fashion as he saw his half-volley kept out by a diving save from Guaita down to his right.
Zinedine Zidane’s side took the lead when Karim Benzema capped off a counter-attack with a fine first-half finish.
The hosts wastefully gave the ball away from a free-kick and Madrid rapidly brought the ball back with the aid of a deflected pass into the path of Benzema, who fired into the bottom-left corner.
But Getafe surprisingly levelled against the run of play 11 minutes into the second half as Jorge Molina continued his excellent run of form against Madrid, although replays suggested that he was offside.
Ronaldo was then presented with a golden chance to seal the points, only to somehow shoot wide from a yard out.
It looked as if that miss would prove costly, but the Portugal forward made amends by latching onto Isco’s wonderful lofted ball over the top and lashing a half-volley beyond Vicente Guaita.
The win cuts the gap to leaders Barcelona to four points, though Barcelona could extend that back to seven with victory at Atletico Madrid later this evening.