Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid moved seven points clear at the top of La Liga courtesy of a 2-1 win over lowly Sporting Gijon at the Bernabeu on Saturday afternoon.
Carlos Carmona halved the deficit 10 minutes before the break after Ronaldo had struck twice inside the opening 18 minutes, but Duje Cop missed a late penalty for the relegation-threatened visitors as an off-colour Los Blancos held on to secure all the points ahead of their trip to Barcelona next weekend.
It was the lively visitors that had the first half-chance of the match inside two minutes when Cop found a yard of space outside the Real Madrid box, but the on-loan striker's effort was always moving wide of Keylor Navas's post.
Less than 60 seconds later, Sporting came close once again when Cop released Carmona, but the midfielder was put off by the advancing Navas and could only sweep the ball wide of the goal.
Real Madrid then went straight down the other end and took the lead - Ronaldo netting from the penalty spot after Sergio Alvarez had brought the lively Lucas Vazquez to the deck with a really clumsy challenge.
Ronaldo should have doubled the home side's lead in the 13th minute when he found himself unmarked inside the Sporting box from a Luka Modric corner, but the Portuguese somehow missed the crossbar from close range.
Ronaldo was not to be denied five minutes later, however, as the 31-year-old headed a Nacho cross past Sporting goalkeeper Diego Marino to put Real Madrid in a very comfortable position inside 18 minutes at the Bernabeu.
The visitors were a threat throughout the opening 30 minutes though, and Navas again had to be alert to keep out a low strike from Moi Gomez, who had been given freedom to join Cop in the final third of the field.
Indeed, Sporting deservedly halved the deficit 10 minutes before the break when Isma Lopez broke down the left before delivering a cross in to Carmona, who got across Mateo Kovacic to turn his effort away from Navas and into the bottom corner of the net.
Ronaldo might have completed his hat-trick in the latter stages of the first period when he weaved through a host of bodies before firing towards the bottom corner, but Marino made a smart save as it remained 2-1 at the break.
Neither side created a clear chance in the opening 10 minutes of the second period, but it was Sporting that were the more adventurous in the final third as Lopez and Douglas continued to make use of the space in wide positions.
Karim Benzema should have put Real Madrid 3-1 ahead in the 58th minute when he met a Danilo cross inside the Sporting box, but the Frenchman could not beat Marino, who kept his side in the game with a top save.
Ronaldo remained a threat for Los Blancos as the game approached its final 20 minutes, but Sporting continued to look the more likely to add to the scoring as Cop just failed to connect on a couple of dangerous crosses from Douglas and Lopez.
Zidane took the decision to substitute skipper Sergio Ramos in the 72nd minute, ensuring that the centre-back would not pick up a yellow card in the latter stages and consequently miss El Clasico next weekend.
Sporting had the chance to level the scores from the penalty spot 15 minutes from time after Nacho brought Victor Rodriguez to the ground with a poor challenge, but Cop fired his spot kick into the stands as Real Madrid survived yet another dangerous moment on home soil.
The pressure continued into the latter stages as Cop came close on a couple more occasions, but Real Madrid just about did enough to secure all the points as they opened up a seven-point gap over second-placed Barcelona, who face a tough trip to in-form Real Sociedad on Sunday night.
Real Madrid will travel to Barcelona for the first Clasico of the season next Saturday afternoon, while Sporting will attempt to end a poor run of form when they welcome Osasuna next Sunday night.
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