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La Liga: Marcelo takes knee as Real return with a bang

Madrid's win means they reduce the gap behind league leaders Barcelona back to two points after the Catalans thrashed Real Mallorca 4-0 earlier.

Marcelo

Bengaluru, June 15: Real Madrid stayed two points behind Barcelona after a 3-1 win over Eibar in a La Liga game played without fans which also saw Marcelo take a knee in sympathy with the Black Lives Matter movement.

In their first competitive outing following La Liga's three-month break due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo all scored in the opening 45 minutes.

Brazilian defender Marcelo marked his 37th minute goal by taking a knee and raising a fist in sympathy with the Black Lives Matter movement.

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Madrid's win means they reduce the gap behind league leaders Barcelona back to two points after the Catalans thrashed Real Mallorca 4-0 earlier.

La Liga Results | Points Table | Fixtures

Atletico Madrid, who were held by Athletic Bilbao stay sixth, level on points with Getafe and one behind Real Sociedad, who were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Osasuna.

Atletico held by BilbaoAtletico held by Bilbao

Barca rout MallocaBarca rout Malloca

Hazard injured

Meanwhile, Eden Hazard, playing for the first time since February after undergoing ankle surgery in March, was replaced in the second half with what appeared to be a recurrence of the same injury.

"We knew Eden would lack a bit of rhythm playing the whole game," coach Zinedine Zidane said.

"He played well for an hour, he took a knock which was a scare but at half-time he said he was fine. He is happy with what he has done and we're happy with him."

Madrid struck in the fourth minute after a superb strike from Toni Kroos before Ramos tucked away Hazard's pass on the counter-attack.

Eibar pulled one back in the second half through Pedro Bigas but never found the second to make Madrid nervous, despite a brief spell of pressure.

Before going off, Hazard was busy, the Belgian involved in all three goals.

His weaving run through midfield led to Kroos' shot and it was his effort that was cleared out to Marcelo, who drove into the corner.

After a miserable opening season in Spain, it was a bright start for Hazard, who could now redeem himself by playing a crucial role in the run-in, if he can stay injury-free.

With Real's Santiago Bernabeu stadium being revamped, Zidane's men re-started the campaign at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo di Stefano stadium where their reserve side play.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Story first published: Monday, June 15, 2020, 8:43 [IST]
Other articles published on Jun 15, 2020