AE Sports

No Goal Gift For Birthday Boy Ronaldo

Real Madrid took a huge step towards booking their place in the Copa del Rey final by beating city rivals Atletico Madrid 3-0 at the Bernabeu.

Cristiano Ronaldo would not score on his 29th birthday, while Gareth Bale was absent from the squad for unspecified reasons, but an own-goal from Emiliano Insua and second-half efforts from Jese and Angel Di Maria gave Atletico a mountain to climb in next week’s reverse at the Vicente Calderon.

Atletico had won twice in a row in north Madrid to sorely irritate their more successful neighbours, and Carlo Ancelotti’s men used Wednesday night’s first-leg semi-final to convincingly reassert their authority.