Cristiano Ronaldo is the master of penalties - Seven Deadly Stats from Real Madrid's 4-1 win over Valencia

Aditya Devavrat 22:13 27/01/2018
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    • Ronaldo's brace of penalties led Madrid to victory.

    Real Madrid headed into their clash against Valencia in full crisis mode. There was talk that a loss could result in Zinedine Zidane finally getting the sack, and the future of some of their star players was up in the air as well.

    An away trip to Valencia was hardly the ideal fixture in that context, but Cristiano Ronaldo and company made light of their recent struggles with an impressive 4-1 win at the Mestalla Stadium.

    Here are seven deadly stats from Madrid’s convincing win.

    CRISTIANO RONALDO, PENALTY SPECIALIST

    Ronaldo’s proficiency from the penalty spot sometimes makes him the butt of jokes, with detractors believing he gets cheap goals to pad his stats.

    While his brace from the spot won’t have settled that debate on Saturday – and probably never will – his mastery of the penalty kick is worth applauding. Plenty of talented attackers would envy Ronaldo’s penalty record.

    WHO NEEDS RONALDO, ANYWAY?

    With his brace, Ronaldo continued an astonishing scoring record for Real Madrid.

    Even through struggles and dips in form, the Portuguese star has been a remarkable model of consistency, never having a bad season in Madrid colours.

    FINDING HIS FORM

    It was a second brace in a row in the league, after last week’s showing against Deportivo La Coruña, and Ronaldo seems to finally be rounding into form in La Liga.

    The timing couldn’t be better, with critics sharpening their knives this season and speculation gathering steam (if only ever so slowly) that Madrid are ready to move on from their talisman.

    TIME TO SELL BALE?

    It’s hard to believe given his injury-plagued, much-criticised season, but Gareth Bale has quietly been one of Madrid’s best players in this campaign.

    There’s no doubt that the time he misses due to his fitness issues is a source of frustration for fans and the Madrid management – though it’s probably even more so for Bale himself. When he does play, however, he contributes in a way that makes it unthinkable that he would be a top candidate to be sold this summer.

    Along with leading the team in assists this season, he’s also the second-leading scorer behind Ronaldo.

    MAYBE HE SHOULD BE STARTING MORE OFTEN…

    Valencia came back into the game thanks to a goal from Santi Mina, who gave the home side hope of a comeback.

    The 22-year-old has made a total of 21 league appearances this season, but only eight of those have been from the start. But his eight league goals are enough to leave him in among a host of players tied for 10th in the La Liga scoring charts, one of whom is Ronaldo. He’s second only to Simone Zaza in Valencia’s league goals tally this season.

    Message to Marcelino: start him more often.

    ENDING THE ROAD RUT

    There was plenty of reason to doubt Real Madrid going into this game, given their recent away record.

    So when Mina scored to put Valencia back in the game, Madrid could have been forgiven for getting nervous. It showed, with the home side suddenly first to every ball, constantly snapping at the heels of Madrid’s players, and controlling the game.

    Not for long, though, as Marcelo scored a trademark goal to put the game out of reach, and then Toni Kroos added gloss to the scoreline.

    A LONG-AWAITED WIN

    Valencia’s brief comeback must have been all the more nerve-wracking for Madrid given their record at this stadium. The Mestalla has been a bogey ground in recent times, with Valencia using their home support to give Los Blancos a tough ride even in the midst of some poor seasons.

    Thanks to their late flourish, Madrid can put recent memories of this stadium behind them, as they sent an emphatic message to a direct rival in the race for a top-three finish.

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