Cristiano Ronaldo's absence overshadowed
Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Espanyol after goals
from Gareth Bale and Alvaro Morata (2) secured victory in their final
La Liga game of the season.
Ronaldo, who limped off with a muscle injury in
the 1-1 draw at Real Valladolid earlier this
month, sustained a problem in the warm-up and
was replaced in the side by Isco.
And the nine-time European champions could
also be without Benzema for the clash in Lisbon
after he came off in the 67th minute with an
apparent groin complaint.
Real were always in control and ensured victory
with a late flurry from Benzema's replacement
Morata, but the focus will firmly be on the
prospects of their injured attacking pair prior to
the showdown with Atletico and next month's
World Cup.
The hosts took a while to find their rhythm
without Portuguese talisman Ronaldo, the first
real chance taking 13 minutes to arrive as
Benzema headed over Marcelo's left-wing cross.
Marcelo then forced Kiko Casilla into a near-post
stop with a shot from a tight angle before Sergio
Ramos drew another save from the Espanyol
goalkeeper from the resulting corner.
Ramos, scorer of five goals in his last six games,
continued to show signs of potentially adding to
his tally, firing narrowly wide from long range in
the 27th minute.
But the best chance of the first half fell to
Benzema, who cleverly worked his way past a
couple of defenders inside the area only to be
denied by a fine Casilla save.
Yet for all their dominance, Real may have fallen
behind had Daniel Carvajal not produced an
excellent last-ditch tackle to prevent Simao from
getting a shot away from point-blank range.
Real cut the look of a frustrated side for much
of the encounter as they laboured to try and find
a way through a stubborn Espanyol defence, with
Ramos once again going close as he curled over
in the 63rd minute.
However, Carlo Ancelotti's men finally found the
back of the net just a minute later when Bale
raced onto Benzema's clever reverse throughball
and slotted in off the post.
Espanyol missed a glorious chance to level
almost immediately, Simao somehow missing the
target when one-on-one with Iker Casillas.
Morata effectively made sure of the points with
a close-range finish in the 86th minute before
Pizzi converted Sergio Garcia's neat pass to halve
the deficit.
A second for Morata put the gloss on a
straightforward win, but that will have done
little to calm the tension surrounding the fitness
of Ronaldo and Benzema.
