Real romp to derby victory over Barca

Agence France Presse

Madrid, April 11:

Real Madrid reduced Barcelona’s lead at the top of the Spanish League to six points with a memorable 4-2 win in one of the world’s most famous derby matches. First half goals from Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, captain Raul Gonzalez were followed up with a second half effort from Michael Owen. Barca got on the scoresheet thanks to their own superstars, Samuel Eto’o and Ronaldinho, but Real definitely were the top guns. To make matters worse for Barcelona, top scorer Samuel Eto’o picked up a knee injury which could rule him out for between three and eight weeks. Zidane opened the scoring after just seven minutes, heading home a Ronaldo cross. Ronaldo broke his recent goal drought 13 minutes later when the Brazilian World Cup winner connected with a David Beckham free-kick.

Eto’o got one back for Barca after 29 minutes to briefly silence the 78,000 Real Madrid fans who had packed the Santiago Bernabeu. However, Raul restored their two goal advantage by scrambling the ball into the net two minutes into injury time at the end of the first half. Owen then put the win beyond doubt after 65 minutes, running onto a neat pass from his fellow England international Beckham, and taking the ball 20 yards before unleashing a right foot shot from the edge of the area. Ronaldinho found the net with 17 minutes to go but it proved to be merely a consolation goal. Sevilla moved up to third with a 3-1 win at fellow high-flyers Espanyol, after fellow high-flyers Villarreal were held to a 1-1 draw at Deportivo La Coruna. In other matches, Real Betis 2, Levante 2; Getafe 1, Albacete 0; Osasuna 1, Racing Santander 0, Valencia 2, Malaga 2; Real Mallorca 0 Real Zaragoza 2.