MADRID (AP) ― Gareth Bale finally made his mark at Real Madrid on Wednesday, only for Cristiano Ronaldo to upstage his two-goal performance with a hat-trick in a 7-3 victory over Sevilla.
The Welshman celebrated his first league start at the Santiago Bernabeu by scoring twice and setting up two more.
But it was Ronaldo who responded to FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s mocking of the Portugal forward with a celebration slight of his own as he passed Ferenc Puskas with his 157th league goal for Madrid, the fifth-best in the club’s history.
Karim Benzema capped the 10-goal thriller with his second goal, while Ivan Rakitic scored twice for Sevilla but sent a penalty ― the third of the match ― into the stands with a hat-trick beckoning. Carlos Bacca also scored for the visitors.
Bale, the world’s most expensive footballer, helped Madrid rebound from Saturday’s 2-1 loss at league leader Barcelona to stay within six points of its rival.
Earlier, Almeria rallied from a goal down to beat Valencia 2-1 and record its first win of the season.
Also, Real Sociedad goalkeeper Claudio Bravo saved Patrick Ebert’s stoppage time penalty to preserve a 2-2 draw at Valladolid, and Osasuna beat up Rayo Vallecano 3-1.
City, Tottenham advance
LONDON (AP) ― Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko scored in extra time to send Manchester City into the League Cup quarterfinals with a 2-0 win at Newcastle on Wednesday, while Tottenham needed a penalty shootout to earn a place in the last eight.
Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time.
Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th.
In the other fourth-round match, Tottenham and Hull were level at 2-2 after extra time. Hull player Ahmed Elmohamady, who gave away the penalty converted by Roberto Soldado at White Hart Lane in Hull’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, missed the decisive spot-kick.
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 25-meter shot in the first half had put the home side ahead, before American goalkeeper Brad Friedel fumbled the ball into his own net.
