Vigo, Spain – Cristiano Ronaldo scored a second-half brace as Real Madrid topped Celta Vigo, 2-1, on Sunday at the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos.
After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, Ronaldo got Madrid off to a fantastic start in the 61st minute when a corner kick fell to his feet and the Portuguese superstar easily dispatched it into the net to give Real the 1-0 lead.
Just two minutes later, Celta Vigo found an equalizer when Iago Aspas picked up a cross from Augusto Fernandez and beat Real goalkeeper Diego Lopez with a low, left-footed strike into the bottom right corner.
But in the 72nd minute, the momentum shifted in favor of Real Madrid when Celta goalkeeper Javi Varas was shown a yellow card for a rash challenge on Ronaldo, who was then awarded a penalty kick.
Ronaldo stepped up to the spot and calmly hit it down the middle and past the diving Varas to make it 2-1 for Madrid.
Real Madrid moved into second place in La Liga and extended its winning streak to six consecutive matches, while Celta Vigo remains in the bottom three on 23 points from 27 matches.
Real Sociedad 1, Atletico Madrid 0
Madrid, Spain - Xabi Prieto's second-half goal was enough to lift Real Sociedad to a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday at the Vicente Calderon.
Atletico controlled the run of play for most of the match and directed 21 shots toward goal, but Sociedad snagged the only tally of the day in the 53rd minute when Prieto ran onto a through ball on the counter attack from Antoine Griezmann and slid a right-footed effort past Atletico netminder Thibaut Courtois.
The result leaves Atletico in third place with 57 points, one behind Real Madrid, while Sociedad climbs to fifth place on 44 points.
Athletic Bilbao 1, Valencia 0
Bilbao, Spain - Iker Muniain's tally 11 minutes from time lifted Athletic Bilbao to a 1-0 victory over Valencia on Sunday at the San Mames.
The clubs played to an even split of possession, while Valencia had the edge in shots on target, but it was Muniain's entry into the match in the 59th minute that ultimately made the difference for Bilbao.
Bilbao's breakthrough came in the 79th as Muniain collected a loose ball in the box and buried it into the top right corner for the match's only score.
The result lifts the home side to 32 points from 27 matches, while Valencia stays in sixth place with 42 points.
Levante 0, Getafe 0
Valencia, Spain - Levante and Getafe shared the spoils on Sunday after the clubs battled to a 0-0 draw at the Ciutat de Valencia.
Getafe had a slight edge in ball control throughout the 90 minutes, while Levante finished with more shots as well as shots on target, but neither side was able to find a breakthrough.
Levante's winless run in La Liga has reached six consecutive matches, while Getafe is unbeaten in its last four league outings.
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