Real Madrid work hard to beat Sporting Gijon

 　　MADRID, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid had to work a lot harder than expected before defeating Sporting Gijon 3-1 in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday night.

　　It was not until the 75th minute of the game that a Cristiano Ronaldo header, his 41st goal of the season, gave them the lead against a side which now look doomed¹ to relegation² to the second division³.

　　Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho took his side into the match against a Sporting that kicked off second from bottom of the table with one eye clearly on next Tuesday's Champions League game in Munich and next Saturday's trip to play Barcelona in the Camp Nou Stadium.

　　Nuri Sahin came into the side for the suspended⁴ Xabi Alonso, while Fabio Coentrao and Angel de Maria, who are both a booking away from suspension⁵ started on the subs bench.

　　If Madrid were expecting an easy ride, however they were in for a surprise: Sporting striker Oscar Trejo produced the first chance of the game with a shot which was saved by Iker Casillas.

　　The game was being played in the Sporting half, and Higuain had a goal correctly ruled out for offside, before Sporting took a shock lead. Trejo worked hard to get into the area and Sergio Ramos stopped his run with a handball.

　　Miguel de las Cuervas drilled the penalty⁶ past Iker Casillas. It was the first penalty given against Madrid in a year.

　　However, the visitors' lead only lasted seen minutes as poor marking allowed Higuain to head home a Ramos cross.

　　Mourinho reacted at halftime by bringing Karim Benzema and Angel de Maria into the game, but Sporting continued to defend well, with keeper Juan Pablo not being forced into any saves.

　　It was Ronaldo who broke the deadlock⁷ with a glancing header following a De Maria cross with 15 minutes remaining in the game.

　　Sporting were reduced to 10 men shortly afterwards as Roberto Canella was shown a well-deserved yellow card and Benzema sealed the win with his 18th league goal of the season with eight minutes left.

　　The win means Madrid will take at least a four point lead to the Camp Nou Stadium to play FC Barcelona next Saturday.

1 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

2 relegation   

n.驱逐，贬黜；降级

参考例句：

• Liaoning team lost this game, is still deeply avoid relegation zone. 辽宁队本场失利后，仍然深陷保级区。 来自互联网
• In society, relegation is based on your income. 社会上的规类是以你的收入为基准。 来自互联网

3 division   

n.区分，分开，除法，公司，部门，师(军队里)

参考例句：

• Have you learnt division?你学会除法了吗？
• The division commander ordered that we start the attack before dawn.师长令我们在拂晓前发起攻击。

4 suspended   

a.被暂时搁置的

参考例句：

• A lamp was suspended from the ceiling. 一盏吊灯悬在天花板上。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area. 英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 suspension   

n.悬挂，悬浮液，暂缓，未决，中止

参考例句：

• The local authorities decided to build a suspension bridge over the river.地方当局决定在这条河上建一座吊桥。
• A four-day suspension was imposed on her.她被勒令停职4天。

6 penalty   

n.处罚，刑罚，罚款

参考例句：

• If you knock the ball with your hand in football,you will suffer a penalty.如果在踢足球时你用手碰到球，你将受到处罚。
• One of those arrested could face the death penalty.被捕的那些人中有一人可能被判死刑。

7 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。