Hala Madrid: We must continue like this

Cristiano Ronaldo’s brace, plus goals from Marcelo and Kroos were all Real Madrid needed to sink Valencia on Saturday, and the spectacular win wouldn’t be sweet if not for the previous disappointments.

Ronaldo converted two penalties at the Estadio Mestalla in Valencia to prove his contention for another Ballon d’Or is achievable.

The Portuguese international player’s determination, confidence and dynamism were put to work after Martin Montoya’s fouls in the penalty area.

Montoya hacked down Ronaldo for the first spot kick and carelessly pushed Benzema for the second.

The first half goals were followed by another late double from Marcelo and Kroos whose efforts consolidated Madrid’s three points from the game.

Having suffered elimination in the Copa del Rey midweek, and still licking the sore wounds, their victory over against Valencia proved inspiring ahead of the upcoming Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain.

“We must continue like this,” all the players agreed in their social media posts on Madrid website after the match.

Victoria importante para recuperar confianza. #HalaMadrid https://t.co/MxWnEmeve4

— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) January 27, 2018

For the first time in 280 days, coach Zinedine Zidane featured his dreaded attacking force, the Karin Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo (BBC).

Madrid veteran goalkeeper, Keylor Navas, was also at his very best, making a number of huge saves to keep his team safe.