LONDON (AP) ― World player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo earned a red card for kicking an opponent during Real Madrid’s latest win in the Spanish league to overshadow a day of shocks in England’s FA Cup.
In an uncharacteristic outburst, Ronaldo lashed out in anger at a defender and then swiped the face of another opponent toward the end of Madrid’s 2-1 win at Cordoba that kept the European champions top of the standings above Barcelona.
Four of the Premier League’s top six were eliminated from the FA Cup, which lived up to its so-called “giant-killing” reputation as Chelsea and Manchester City lost to lower-league opposition.
Ronaldo earned a straight red for Madrid at Cordoba just before Gareth Bale snatched a winner for the Spanish league leaders with an 89th-minute penalty.
Lionel Messi set up Neymar twice and scored two of his own to reach the 30-goal mark for a seventh straight season in Barcelona’s 6-0 rout at 10-man Elche, keeping the Catalan club one point behind Madrid.
Madrid has a game in hand, but it may not have its leading scorer for its next one after his violent outburst.
In the 82nd his frustration boiled over as he lashed out at defender Edimar. He also swiped the face of Cordoba’s Jose Crespo following the kicking incident.
Ronaldo strolled off the pitch, taking time to gesture to the patch on his shirt for Madrid winning the Club World Cup in December. The gesture earned the Ballon d’Or winner jeers from the Nuevo Arcangel crowd. Ronaldo later apologized for his “rash act.”
With Madrid facing a costly draw at a modest rival, Wales winger Bale earned a free kick and sent his strike into the defensive wall, where Fede Cartabia used his hand to block it. Bale then converted the resulting spot kick to take the valuable three points.
Bale had already set up Karim Benzema to level in the 27th after Cordoba’s Nabil Ghilas opened the scoring with a penalty two minutes in.
Messi continued his excellent start to 2015 with his seventh and eighth goals in his last five games, while his two assists gave him a league-leading 10 for the season.
Gerard Pique got Barcelona going with a goal in the 35th before Messi scored his 30th goal of the season from the spot following Sergio Pelegrin’s foul of Neymar.
Elche’s Faycal Fajr was sent off with his second booking in the 57th, and Messi picked the hosts apart with two passes for Neymar to finish off in the 69th and 72nd.
Messi tallied up his 31st goal of this campaign two minutes from time before Neymar passed for Pedro Rodriguez to polish off Barcelona’s fourth win over Elche this season for a combined score of 18-0.
