Spanish La Liga
Result: Real Madrid 2-0 Espanyol
Date: 18 February 2017
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu
Cristiano Ronaldo endured a frustrating afternoon, while Gareth Bale scored on his return as Real Madrid defeated Espanyol 2-0.
Gareth Bale was named on the bench after recovering from injury, while Keylor Navas, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema were rested.
Los Blancos should have taken the lead after 13 minutes when Toni Kroos' corner found Pepe, who headed wide of the upright from close range.
Real had the ball in the back of the net after 33 minutes as Alvaro Morata headed home Isco's cross into the bottom corner.
Espanyol hardly threatened Kiko Casilla's goals throughout the opening 45 minutes as the score remained 1-0 at the break.
Los Blancos struggled to carve open the visitors in the opening 20 minutes of the second, prompting Zinedine Zidane to introduced Casemiro.
Ronaldo had another chance to get on the score-sheet in the 70th minute, but the forward headed over the crossbar from close range.
However, the returning Gareth Bale sealed the win in the 83rd minute with a fine low finish into the far corner from a tight angle.
