Real Madrid managed to break their surprising slump in La Liga with a 2-1 win over Cadiz at home to get their league campaign back on track before the World Cup break.
Toni Kroos was instrumental in both of Madrid’s goals scoring one and setting up the other for Eder Militao as Cadiz decided to go with the tried and tested method of sitting back and looking for the counterpunch.
Surprisingly, it was the visitors who almost went ahead first when defender Alfonso Espino’s long-range shot clipped the top of the bar before going over after Thibaut Courtois failed to judge it perfectly.
Kroos restored normal service in the 40th minute when his well-placed cross following a short corner found Militao who headed his side in front.
With the goal already in the bag, Real Madrid decided to see out the game without taking any risks against Cadiz who did little to change their approach. The German then turned from provider to scorer, putting away a rebound in the 70th minute to practically seal the contest.
Luka Modric then had to chance to put a bow on the proceedings but missed a great chance to add a third following a perfect low cross by Vinicius Jr.
His wastefulness could have proved costly as Cadiz managed to get on the scoresheet with nine minutes left when Courtois failed to deal with a long-range strike by Theo Bongonda and Lucas Perez slammed the ball into the net.
Despite the late goal, Madrid saw off the game to cut Barcelona’s lead back to two points at the top of the league table.
The defending champions are second in the standings with 35 points.
