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Ronaldo double sends Real Madrid to sixth straight victory

March 10, 2013 -- Updated 2215 GMT (0615 HKT)
Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-1 in the Spanish League
Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-1 in the Spanish League
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice as Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-1 in La Liga
  • Portuguese striker's tally for Real Madrid is now 188 goals in 186 games
  • Juventus score an injury time winner to move six points clear at top of Serie A
  • Hamburg beat Stuttgart 1-0 in German Bundesliga

(CNN) -- Saturday was all about Lionel Messi as the Barcelona striker scored for a record 17th consecutive game in Spain's La Liga but on Sunday Cristiano Ronaldo answered with two goals of his own to continue his remarkable streak for Real Madrid.

The Portuguese striker grabbed both goals as Real won 2-1 at Celta Vigo which takes his record for the club to 188 goals in 186 games.

Jose Mourinho's side have now won six games in a row, including twice against Barcelona and a decisive victory against Manchester United to take them into the last eight of the European Champions League.

Despite their victory Real still sit 13 points behind runaway leaders Barca, and have their sights set on a cup double -- in Europe's top club competition and Spain's most prestigious cup tournament, the Copa del Rey.

Read: Messi breaks record in Barca win

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Real went close twice in the first half through France forward Karim Benzema, both chances supplied by Ronaldo, but he turned finisher on the hour mark when he turned and finished from close range after a deflection in the area.

But Celta, who are deep in relegation trouble, pulled level just two minutes later when Iago Aspas' shot took a deflection off Portuguese defender Pepe and squirmed past Diego Lopez.

Real restored their advantage when Celta goalkeeper Javi Varas brought down Brazil playmaker Kaka and Ronaldo stepped up to score his 25th league goal of the season -- 15 behind Messi's league tally.

Substitute Gonzalo Higuain missed a glorious chance to put the game beyond doubt when he somehow contrived to miss from six yards out after a perfect center from Germany international Mesut Ozil.

And Real were nearly made to pay as Celta's on loan Arsenal forward Park Chu-Young, from South Korea, headed against the crossbar late in the game.

Real's win moved them into second place after city rivals Atletico Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat by Real Sociedad. Xabi Prieto scored the only goal of the game as Atletico sank to third, one point behind Real.

Elsewhere, Iker Munian's late goal handed Athletic Bilbao a much-needed victory over Valencia while Levante and Getafe drew 0-0.

In Italy, an injury time goal from Emanuele Giaccherini sent Juventus six points clear at the top of Serie A and consigned Catania to their ninth league defeat of the season.

Juve's day got better when second placed Napoli went down 2-0 at Chievo Verona after goals from Boukary Drame and Cyril Thereau. Napoli striker Edinson Cavani missed a penalty to get his side back into the game.

Inter Milan went down to a surprise 1-0 home defeat to Bologna thanks to Alberto Gilardino's 57th minute goal. Inter dropped to fifth after Fiorentina's 2-0 win at Lazio.

Segundo Ibardo scored a hat-trick as Cagliari beat Sampdoria 3-1, while there were also wins for Atalanta, Siena and Parma.

In Germany, Hannover drew 0-0 with Eintracht Frankfurt while Artjoms Rudnevs' goal helped Hamburg to a 1-0 victory at Stuttgart.

In France, Marseille and Lyon drew 0-0 while there were wins for Bordeaux and Nice.

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