Cristiano Ronaldo scored both Real Madrid's goals in a 2-0 win over
Malaga on Sunday before being red-carded for deliberately elbowing
defender Patrick Jan Mtiliga in the face.
Ronaldo ended a three game scoring drought in the 35th minute
when Karim Benzema played the ball to Kaka, who crossed to the
Portuguese winger to slot the ball home from close range.
Ronaldo then scored his ninth goal of the season four minutes
later, firing the ball into the roof of the net after being put
through by Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez.
But the Portugal forward's temper got the better of him 20
minutes from time as he lashed out with his elbow, striking Mtiliga
in the face.
Mtiliga was substituted with blood pouring from his nose and
will be out three weeks with a broken nose, coach Juan Ramon Lopez
said.
Madrid's 10th straight home win allows it to stay within five
points of Barcelona, who won 3-0 at Valladolid on Saturday.
Ronaldo's sending off means the world's most expensive
footballer will miss at least one game through suspension just when
Madrid's main rival is in sublime form after finishing the first
half of the season unbeaten.
"His absence is major," coach Manuel Pellegrini said.
Barcelona has 49 points and Madrid 44, while Valencia is
third with 39 points after a 0-0 draw against Tenerife. Mallorca
went fourth - tied with Deportivo La Coruna at 34 points - after
rallying for a 1-1 draw at Espanyol with a late penalty.
Pablo Osvaldo put Espanyol ahead at the Cornella-El Prat
Stadium in the 49th after slotting home a loose ball. But Victor
Ruiz brought Ruben Gonzalez down inside the area to set up Borja
Valero's 80th-minute penalty for Mallorca.
In Sunday's other games, which capped the first half of the
season, it was: Getafe 1, Atletico Madrid 0; Sporting Gijon 0,
Racing Santander 1; Villarreal 4, Zaragoza 2; and Xerez 1, Osasuna
2.
Manu del Moral's 39th-minute score snapped Getafe's two-game
losing run as Atletico - which had a four game winning run ended -
played the final 23 minutes with 10 men after Paulo Assuncao was
red-carded.
Joan Capdevila scored after three minutes and strikers Nilmar
and Giuseppe Rossi also added goals inside 26 minutes for
Villarreal.
Zaragoza, which stayed second bottom, started its rally in
the 75th when Eliseu latched on to Humberto Suaro's cross to score
and Angel Lafita added a second seven minutes later.
But Villarreal ensured its first win in over a month through
Ariel Ibagaza's 88th-minute goal.
Javier Camunas' 83rd-minute strike brought Osasuna victory
and new Xerez coach Nestor Gorosito defeat in his first game in
charge of the last-place club.
Ignacio Monreal latched onto a rebound to score in the ninth
minute for Osasuna. Xerez, which hasn't won since October,
equalized through Mario Bermejo's 23rd-minute header before Camunas
grabbed the winner.
At El Molinon, Alex Geijo received Mohamed Tchite's pass with
his chest and controlled the ball before firing past goalkeeper
Juan Pablo Colinas from inside the area in the 44th minute for
Racing, which had defender Oriol Lazano sent off in the 89th.
On Saturday, Sevilla beat Almeria 1-0 and Deportivo won 3-1
over Athletic Bilbao.
