MADRID — After failing to fire on all cylinders in the first half of the campaign, Real Madrid finally reproduced the scintillating form that helped it romp to the La Liga title last season with a 5-0 dismantling of hapless Valencia Sunday. The signs of a revival, sparked by doubles for Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria and the creativity of playmaker Mesut Ozil, come at a crucial time with a Champions League last-16 tie against Premier League leader Manchester United looming next month. Real tore into Valencia at the Mestalla and scored all five of its goals before halftime. Ronaldo and Di Maria were close to unstoppable on the counter attack, while striker Gonzalo Higuain, who kept Karim Benzema on the bench and opened the scoring in the ninth minute, looked back to his best after recently returning from injury. “It was a match that we made easy for ourselves,” Di Maria said in a post-match interview with TV broadcaster Canal Plus. “We went out to press forward as we have been doing and we got a lot of goals,” added the Argentina international, who has come under fire recently for some lacklustre performances. “I had a great match. It says a lot and maybe shut a few mouths.” Valencia captain Roberto Soldado, a former Real player, was honest in analysing his club's biggest ever home defeat. “They were a very superior opponent and that means you are helpless as you cannot do anything about it,” he told reporters. “They gave us a good kicking which we did not expect,” he added. “Now we have to pick ourselves up and not allow this to affect the good run we were on.” It was Real's second victory of the week against Valencia after Tuesday's 2-0 Cup quarterfinal first leg success at the Bernabeu and they return to the Mestalla for the second leg Wednesday. For all the euphoria, the victory only trimmed the gap to leader Barcelona, which lost 3-2 at Real Sociedad Saturday, to 15 points and Real is still seven behind city rival Atletico, 2-0 winner at home to Levante Sunday. However, its electric performance at Valencia, which is also through to the Champions League last 16, will give it plenty of confidence that the 10th European crown that has eluded it since 2002 is within its grasp. Elsewhere, Osasuna beat visiting Deportivo La Coruna 2-1, Valladolid won 2-0 over Real Zaragoza. PSG on top Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored to give Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 win at Bordeaux Sunday to move top of the league on goal difference on an emotional night, as the team played its first game since the death of a club staff member. Ibrahimovic fired home two minutes from halftime after being set up by Lucas for his 19th goal in 18 league games. Bordeaux struggled to carve out any real chances and has slipped to seventh in the table, 10 points behind the top two. Henri Saivet came close to snatching a point for Bordeaux nine minutes from time but his 30-yard effort was parried by PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu. There was a minute's silence before the match in memory of Nick Broad, PSG's performance director, who died as a result of injuries he sustained in a traffic accident Thursday. PSG is level on points with Lyon, which drew 0-0 at home to struggling Evian Friday. Earlier, Rennes strolled to a 2-0 win at Bastia, while teenage star Neal Maupay struck again as Nice beat Lille 1-0. Juve pulls ahead Juventus reinforced its Serie A title defense, thanks to a 4-0 win over Udinese as the Serie A champion opened up a five-point gap on title rivals Lazio and Napoli. Napoli and Lazio went into their weekend's fixtures, respectively against Fiorentina and Palermo, trailing Juventus by three points. However, Lazio was lucky to emerge with a share of the points thanks to an 84th minute penalty from Hernanes in a 2-2 draw at Palermo, while Napoli had Edinson Cavani to thank for their leveller in a 1-1 draw at Fiorentina. In Sunday's late match, Roma was held to a 1-1 draw by Inter Milan to leave Inter fourth, but now nine points shy of the league leaders. — Agencies
