Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/385963
Sport 19 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2014 SPORTTODAY FOOTBALL Ronaldo scores four as Real Madrid continue hot streak against Elche ONLY three days after netting his 24th hat-trick for the club in their 8-2 victory over Deportivo La Co- runa, Ronaldo went one better at the Bernabeu. Real appear to have got their cam- paign back on track in a glut of goals and, although Edu Albacar gave Elche a surprise lead, Gareth Bale quickly equalised before Ronaldo stole the show. Coach Carlo Ancelotti gave a de- but in goal to Costa Rica star Keylor Navas in place of Iker Casillas but his first meaningful action was to pick the ball out of the net. Ronaldo was unlucky to concede a penalty after catching Pedro Mos- quera in the act of clearing the ball and Albacar found the top corner with 15 minutes gone. Real were a little fortunate not to find themselves facing a second spot- kick a couple of minutes later when Marcelo fouled Garry Rodrigues a fraction outside the box. But the hosts could breathe easier again when Bale exploited poor goal- keeping from Manu Herrera to head in the equaliser from James Rodrigu- ez's cross in the 20th minute. Eight minutes later Ronaldo netted from the spot after what appeared another soft decision - referee Carlos Clos Gomez deciding Mosquera had felled Marcelo. In the 32nd minute it was 3-1, Ron- aldo heading in Marcelo's cross. The second half was played at a much more sedate pace until 10 min- utes from time when Mario Pasalic was ruled to have brought down Ro- naldo. Contact appeared minimal but Ronaldo had no hesitation in com- pleting his hat-trick and, after Toni Kroos had hit the bar, the Portuguese superstar ran onto Bale's precise through ball to add a fifth in injury time. Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals as Real Madrid eased to a 5-1 win over Elche in the Primera Division Cristiano Ronaldo Bayern put Paderborn in their place A review of the midweek action in Germany's Bundesliga BAYERN Munich kicked Paderborn off the top of the Bundesliga with a thumping 4-0 win over the top-flight newcomers at the Allianz Arena. The visitors went into the match as the surprise league leaders after an impressive start to the campaign, but were thoroughly outclassed by the champions. It looked ominous for Paderborn with a smart finish from Mario Gotze and a thunderous strike from Robert Lewandowski had Bayern two up after 14 minutes. But they rode their luck to stem the flow of goals as the hosts went close time and again before late efforts from Gotze (78) and Thomas Muller (85) gave the scoreline a fairer ap- pearance. The win put Bayern two points clear at the top, with Mainz in sec- ond after throwing away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at Eintracht Frankfurt. A whirlwind end to the first half saw Jonas Hofmann (41) and Shinji Okazaki (44) put Mainz in control, only for Alexander Meier to pull one back on the stroke of half-time. And eight minutes from full-time Haris Seferovic equalised to make it 2-2. Hoffenheim in third also missed the chance to go level on points with Bayern after Jannik Vestergaard's 90th-minute leveller earned a 3-3 draw at home to Freiburg. Hoffenheim found themselves 2-0 down as Mike Frantz netted in the 31st and 33rd minutes. The hosts fought back thanks to goals from Tarik Elyounoussi (44) and Sebastian Rudy (63), but Vladimir Darida put Freiburg back in front with a penalty 15 minutes from time. Darida was sent off in the 81st minute, though, and Vestergaard res- cued a point for the hosts. Schalke picked up their first win of the season in style as second-half goals from Max Meyer, Roman Neu- stadter and Tranquillo Barnetta gave them a 3-0 win at Werder Bremen. Bayern Munich players celebrate against Paderborn