Irrepressible Ronaldo strikes twice as Real beat Eibar

Ronaldo scored for the seventh successive game in all competitions by blasting into the net in the 34th minute after chesting down a long ball by Luka Modric, but eighth-placed Eibar pegged the champions back when Ivan Ramis outjumped Sergio Ramos to head home from a corner in the 50th.

Ronaldo was denied by an inspired save by Eibar’s Marko Dmitrovic, who clawed away the Portuguese’s header following a cross from Gareth Bale.

The irrepressible striker had the final say, however, meeting a cross from Dani Carvajal in the area and powering the ball beyond the Serbian goalkeeper in the 84th minute, scoring a 13th goal in his last seven games in all competitions.

Ronaldo has roared back from a feeble start to the season, when he scored just once in his first eight league games, to reach 18 goals in the campaign. His double against Eibar allowed him to move into the top three scorers in the league, trailing Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi on 24 and 20 respectively.

“He’s from another galaxy,” said Real coach Zinedine Zidane of Ronaldo.

“He knows he’s going to score, he’s unique and special. His stats speak for him. And he’s our player. He’s always positive and if he scores twice, he wants to score a third.”

Real are third in the Liga standings on 57 points, 12 behind runaway leaders Barcelona, who visit basement club Malaga later on Sunday. Atletico host Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Tiny Eibar are in contention for a European place next season and made the better start to the game, with Zidane admitting his side struggled in the opening stages.

“This victory makes me feel very good, because they were the better side for a while, they played very well,” added the coach.

“This is a very difficult ground to come to and they know how to play here. We knew we were going to suffer and we did, we had trouble getting hold of the ball but we fought together with character and got the win.”