Real stays in title hunt with a win

Barcelona: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on Monday to help Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 3-0 to stay in touch with the top of the Spanish standings, and then dedicated his goals to the memory of Portuguese great Eusebio.

Ronaldo said his league-leading 19th and 20th goals of the season “were for Eusebio,” the former Benfica star who died on Sunday at the age of 71. “He was very close to me and helped me a lot,” Ronaldo said of his countryman. “He is a mythic figure, and for me today is a very sad day.”

Before the match Ronaldo locked arms with his teammates on the centre circle and turned his gaze upward during a minute of silence for Eusebio at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Ronaldo moved one goal ahead of Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa as the Spanish league’s top scorer by finding the net in the 82nd minute and again in stoppage time from a cross by substitute Gareth Bale on his return from a three-week injury layoff.

Celta’s attack, led by midfielder Rafina Alcantara, created the clearest chances of the match until Benzema broke through from close range in the 67th with his ninth goal in league play this campaign.

Madrid’s win after the league’s two-week winter break left it five points behind Barcelona and Atletico, who play each other in the next round in the Spanish capital.

“In the first half we were a little slow and the team wasn’t well balanced,” said Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti. “They had too many counterattacks. (But) it’s normal after the Christmas break. In the second half we played with more intensity.”

Also, Villarreal striker Ikechukwu Uche scored a hat-trick and Jeremy Perbet added two more goals in a 5-2 win at Rayo Vallecano.

Celta played the hosts to a standstill in the first half while enjoying the best scoring opportunities. Striker Charles had a great look six minutes in but failed to beat goalkeeper Diego Lopez, and Rafina, younger brother of Bayern Munich’s Thiago, had a shot that looked goal-bound when it deflected off a defender in the 37th.

Centurion Kaka

Centurion Kaka

Milan: Brazilian forward Kaka boosted his World Cup hopes by scoring his 100th and 101st goals for AC Milan in a welcome 3-0 win over Atalanta at the San Siro on Monday.

Kaka is one of several Europe-based stars hoping to nail a place in Luiz Felipe Scolari’s squad and did his chances a world of good with two well-taken goals that helped move struggling Milan up two places to 11th.

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri, who on Sunday confirmed his departure from the club at the end of the season, had labelled the game a relegation dogfight and was relieved after Atalanta rattled the woodwork twice.

“There was only one point between us and we were only five points clear of the bottom three,” said the 46-year-old coach.

“Atalanta had a few scoring chances in the second half but overall I don’t think we gave too many chances away. We should have defended better, but Atalanta are a strong side and (goalkeeper) Christian Abbiati did well.”

Mario Balotelli, recovering from flu, started on the bench with Alessandro Matri spearheading the attack in Allegri’s preferred 4-3-2-1 formation, which also featured midfielder Bryan Cristante. Former Valencia defender Adil Rami also made his debut while Japan midfielder Keisuke Honda, who arrived in Milan during the festive break, watched the game from the stands alongside club CEO Adriano Galliani.

Cristante, making only his second senior appearance, scored Milan’s third in the 67th minute to virtually secure what was only Milan’s second win in their past 10 games and fifth of the campaign.

Before then, Kaka led the charge, scoring his 100th goal for the club after collecting a pass deep on the left of the area to turn and beat Andrea Consigli with an angled strike at the keeper’s far post.

Matri made way for Balotelli just before the hour and the Italy striker played a role in Kaka’s second, holding off defender Giulio Migliaccio deep on the right to cross for Robinho.

When the ball bobbled in front of the unmarked Brazilian, Kaka promptly smashed the ball past Consigli from close range. “That’s the best way to start 2014,” said Kaka, who appeared at the post-match press conference with five-year-old son Luca in his arms.

Kaka was not alone in netting twice, Luca Toni hitting a first-half brace in a 3-1 win for Verona away to Udinese, which allowed the visitors to leapfrog Inter Milan into fifth.

Elsewhere, Inter’s bid to reclaim fifth spot from Verona was foiled by an 81st minute strike from Miroslav Klose, which gave Lazio their first win under new coach Edoardo Reja following the recent sacking of Vladimir Petkovic.

Lazio’s 1-0 win at the Olympic Stadium moved the Biancocelesti up to 10th, with Inter now in sixth having taken only six points from their last six games.