Bale on target for Real; Barcelona extend stay on top of La Liga

Bengaluru, January 28: Gareth Bale needed just two minutes to mark his return from injury with a goal as 10-man Real Madrid held on for a 4-2 victory over Espanyol.

Bale had been out since January 3 with a calf strain but made an instant impact off the bench at the RCDE Stadium, where Karim Benzema continued his own rich vein of form by scoring twice.

Sergio Ramos was also on target with a brilliant header before Leo Baptistao kept Espanyol in sight. Bale and Benzema seemed to have wrapped things up but Raphael Varane was sent off with 18 minutes left and substitute Roberto Rosales drove in to set up a nervy finish.

Madrid, however, survived for their fifth win in sixth matches, even if it was only enough to restore the 10-point difference behind Barcelona, who had earlier seen off Girona 2-0, with Lionel Messi scoring a sublime chip.

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Barca, five points ahead of Atletico Madrid, keep winning but Real are gaining momentum, with the resumption of the Champions League just around the corner.

Bale's return will be particularly welcome for coach Santiago Solari.

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"Gareth is happy," Solari said. "He came on and scored straight away, which is great for him and his confidence.

"Little by little he has to regain the form of before, like during the Club World Cup when he scored three goals. This is the Gareth we want to see, with that hunger to score goals."

Benzema now has 15 goals this season and his first was a simple finish in the third minute, as he pounced on a rebound from Luka Modric's shot.

Ramos is their second top scorer with 10, his excellent header looping into the far corner, before Baptistao gave Espanyol a lifeline with an emphatic shot from the edge of the area.

Another game
Another goal for Messi...#LaLigaSantander 🔝⚽ pic.twitter.com/PHNscDmd3b

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) January 28, 2019

But Benzema added a third on the stroke of half-time and when Bale, after replacing Vinicius Junior, made it four, it looked like the game was up.

Instead, Varane was sent off for bringing down Pablo Piatti as the last man and Rosales set Madrid's nerves jangling by chesting and volleying past Thibaut Courtois with nine minutes left.

Benzema's surge, and Bale's fitness, could yet prove key to their second half of the season, particularly in Europe, in La Liga it is Messi, and Barca who lead the way.

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The Top 4 are all on the winners list in #LaLigaSantander! 💪 pic.twitter.com/8BPYbMJDRB

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) January 27, 2019

Messi's brilliant chip, his ninth goal in as many games, came after Nelson Semedo had given them an early lead, before Bernardo Espinosa's red card consigned Girona to 39 minutes with 10 men.

The home fans were left incensed by that decision, as well as Messi's reaction they believed caused it, but the Argentinian's goal offered the perfect riposte.

🏟👽

Messi has scored in 37 different stadiums in #LaLigaSantander! pic.twitter.com/j2ML4Q4Tn9

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) January 27, 2019

"We struggled in the first half a bit but after the red card we had to dominate the game," Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said. "It was a tough match, they pushed us a lot."

(With Agency inputs)