Ronaldo double as Real ride luck to beat Sporting

Reuters: Cristiano Ronaldo continued his rich vein of form by scoring twice in Real Madrid’s 2-1 home win over struggling Sporting Gijon on Saturday, although the La Liga leaders got a lucky break when the visitors squandered a second-half penalty.

The prolific Portuguese put Real ahead from the spot in the fifth minute and dived in to head the second in the 18th, claiming his eighth goal in four league games to go top of the scoring charts with 10 strikes this season.

Sevilla beat Valencia 2-1 to go second, while Espanyol picked up a first home win of the season by beating Leganes 3-0 and Malaga overcame a late fightback from Deportivo La Coruna to win 4-3. Real top the standings on 33 points, six ahead of Sevilla in second and seven ahead of Barcelona, who visit Real Sociedad on Sunday.