Luka Modric inspires Real Madrid to victory over Girona as La Liga title race heats up

Croatian's sublime strike secures win over Girona but Barcelona and Atletico also take three points

Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder Luka Modric scored the opening goal against Girona. AFP

Real Madrid ended a three-match winless run in La Liga by beating Girona 2-0 at the Bernabeu to move back into second place on a weekend where the top three all won.

Los Blancos – who beat Manchester City 3-1 on Wednesday night to secure their spot in the last 16 of the Champions League – went ahead just before half-time through Luka Modric’s strike.

After Carlo Ancelotti’s side had dominated the second half but without adding to their lead, Vinicius Junior eventually clinched the three points with a low strike in the 83rd minute.

Real now sit level on points at the top of the table with leaders Barcelona, who were 2-0 winners at Las Palmas on Saturday, with Atletico Madrid one point back in third.

“To score a goal like that, you have to keep shooting,” Modric said. “I was by myself, controlled the ball, I struck it well and thank God it went in. It was a nice goal and it’s always special to score at home in front of the fans at the Bernabeu.”

Modric received a huge reception from the crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

“I’m very grateful and proud of the affection that Madrid fans show me every day,” he said. “Today they’ve done it again and I can only say thank you.”

Modric made his ninth start in 25 league matches for Madrid in a season in which the 39-year-old's minutes have decreased. The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner scored his fourth goal the campaign.

“Modric is a gift for football,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We've had the luck of having a legend with us.”

Barcelona remain top after beating Las Palmas 2-0 on Saturday. Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres were on target for the Catalans to beat relegation-threatened Las Palmas, who remain one point above the drop zone.

“We don't feel pressure, we want to be at the top, we know [winning the league] is up to us,” Olmo told Movistar.

“Today we took three important points, so we're going home happy.”

Olmo has not featured regularly since the club's financial problems left him unregistered at the start of the year, until Spain's national sports council granted a temporary measure which allowed him to play.

The former RB Leipzig midfielder missed some games with a calf strain in January.

“I am in shape, I'm 100 per cent, with a lot of desire to play and get back in the team,” he added. “I'm glad to be able to play, helping the team with goals. In the end I want to score as many as I can to help the team and keep winning, which is the important thing.”

Earlier on Saturday, Julian Alvarez bagged a brace as Atletico were able to climb to the top of the pile for a couple of hours by winning 3-0 at struggling Valencia.

The Argentina international reached nine league goals for the season with his first half double before Angel Correa steered home the third late on.

“I'm very happy, it was important to win here to stay in the title fight,” Alvarez said. “It wasn't an easy game, we knew it, they'd been doing well at home, so we had to go for it and getting three points is very good.

“We're still in the fight … there are still a lot of games to go and we have to go slowly, with humility and hard work like always.”

Valencia had won three in a row at home but defeat leaves them locked in a fierce relegation battle.