Watch Video Highlights: Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 3-0

MADRID (Sporting Alert) — Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice as Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 3-0 in La Liga and keep close to leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the points standings.

Watch Video Highlights: Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 3-0

After a battling hour of football where the visitors kept the hosts from scoring, Karim Benzema broke the deadlock with a clever finish in the 67th minute, fore Ronaldo scored 19th and 20th goals of the season late in the second half.

The victory sees Real Madrid moving five behind both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who had won their respective fixtures at the weekend.

Head coach Carlo Ancelotti admits that his team did not play particularly well, but the most important thing after a the Christmas and the holiday breaks is to win.

“The play was not that good in the first half, it was a little slow,” Ancelotti admitted. “After Christmas and the holidays it is normal for a team not to play with a lot of intensity.

“The most important thing was to win the match and we won well, especially with more intensity in the second half. The match showed that we had problems in defence and we need to improve the balance.

“But, to win the league, it is better to do it when you’re up to speed. We are five points behind and we have to try to make them up by playing better.”