Real Madrid beat Levante to move 10 clear in Spain

 　　MADRID, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid this Sunday moved 10 points clear of FC Barcelona at the top of the BBVA Primera Liga thanks to a 4-2 home win against Levante.

　　Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick that cemented his side's position at the top of the table.

　　Madrid's win coupled with Barca's 3-2 defeat away to Osasuna on Saturday night means it would need a disaster for Jose Mourinho's side to lose their grip on the title and given that Madrid have dropped just eight points all season, it is hard to imagine such a disaster occurring.

　　Three of those eight points were dropped away to Levante earlier in the season, but the Levante side that took to the pitch in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium was much changed to that which defeated Madrid earlier in the campaign.

　　Jose Barkero and Juanlu have suffered long-term injuries, while key defender¹ Nano has moved to China and left back Juanfran Torres was also missing with a muscle problem.

　　All that meant Levante had taken just three points from their last six league games, while the last time Madrid failed to win was against Barcelona early in December.

　　Madrid have developed a habit of conceding early goals and it was no different against Levante as some poor defending allowed visiting defender Cabral to head home from close range after five minutes.

　　From then on it was a Madrid monologue² with Levante keeper Gustavo Munua denying Madrid with a series of saves.

　　Gonzalo Higuain was denied twice by the keeper, who also flew to save a swirling³ Ronaldo free kick and got down to save from Karim Benzema as Madrid dominated the game.

　　Madrid had a let off after 38 minutes when Sergio Ramos should have been sent off for kicking at Asier del Horno in an off the ball incident. Referee⁴ Undiano Mallenco saw what happened, but only booked the Madrid defender.

　　Madrid got back into the game in the last minute of the half from the penalty spot. Iborra misjudged and handled a ball in the area and Undiano gave a penalty before sending off Iborra for a second yellow card, before Ronaldo converted the penalty to level the score.

　　Ronaldo scored twice more in the first 13 minutes of the second period to assure the three points. His first was a header following a fine cross from Higuain, while his third of the night was a stunning⁵ shot from outside of the penalty area that dipped and swirled⁶ over the helpless Munua.

　　That should have sealed the win, but Aruna Kone took advantage of some slack defending to head home Levante's second goal after 63 minutes, but Benzema wasted no time in making it 4-2 with a lovely curling shot into the far corner of the net.

1 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

2 monologue   

n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白

参考例句：

• The comedian gave a long monologue of jokes.喜剧演员讲了一长段由笑话组成的独白。
• He went into a long monologue.他一个人滔滔不绝地讲话。

3 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

4 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

5 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

6 swirled   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The waves swirled and eddied around the rocks. 波浪翻滚着在岩石周围打旋。
• The water swirled down the drain. 水打着旋流进了下水道。