Zinedine Zidane scored a brace as Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol 4-0 in the Spanish Primera Liga on Saturday. Guti and Ronaldo were on the score sheet as Los Meringues continued their impressive run of form. The win put Real Madrid in second place in the La Liga table with 42 points, 10 behind leaders Barcelona who play Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Guti put Real Madrid ahead after just 14 minutes when he connected with David Beckham's cross to slot home at the near post. In the 42nd minute, Zidane collected Roberto Carlos' back pass inside the area and fired a close-range shot that bounced off the ground and went straight into the net. Brazilian striker Ronaldo, who has just returned from an injury, added the third in the stoppage time of the first half as he brilliantly headed home Cicinho's inch-perfect cross. Zidane completed the rout six minutes after the re-start following a powerful drive from the edge of the area into the left bottom corner of the net. Earlier, Malaga scrapped past Athletic Bilbao with a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Litos and Salva.
