Match ends, Almería 1, Real Madrid 4.
AlmeríaAlmería1Real MadridReal Madrid4
Real Madrid sealed their 20th victory in a row in all competitions as Cristiano Ronaldo scored two more goals in a victory at Almeria.
Real have won every match since 13 September and are four off the world record of Brazilians Coritiba in 2011.
The visitors led 2-1 at half-time with Isco and Gareth Bale scoring either side of Verza's strike for Almeria.
Iker Casillas saved a Verza penalty before Ronaldo's late brace took his season tally to 32 goals in 23 games.
The last time Real Madrid failed to win a match was their 2-1 defeat by Atletico Madrid almost three months ago.
They broke Barcelona's Spanish record of 18 wins in a row on Tuesday against Ludogorets in the Champions League - and few predicted anything other than a comfortable 20th consecutive victory in Friday's trip to Andalusia.
Almeria, who dropped into the bottom three on goal difference with the defeat, had Miguel Rivera in caretaker charge for one game after the sacking of Francisco Javier Rodriguez, with Juan Ignacio Martinez taking over after this match.
It took Carlo Ancelotti's side 34 minutes to take the lead through Isco's fantastic curling effort, the midfielder starting in place of the injured James Rodriguez. But five minutes later Verza had levelled with a stunning half-volley.
However they trailed at half-time through Gareth Bale's header from Toni Kroos's cross.
The turning point of the game came when Almeria won a penalty midway through the second half but Casillas guessed right to keep out Verza's effort.
Ronaldo had a poor game with his only contribution until the 81st minute being a yellow card - but he scored two late goals, with a near-post effort and a shot into an empty net, taking his tally to 25 goals in 14 La Liga games this season.
Real are now five points clear of Barcelona, who have a game in hand, as they prepare to go to Morocco for the Club World Cup.
They take on Cruz Azul or Western Sydney Wanderers in Tuesday's semi-final, with the final to be played next Saturday.
Line-ups
Almería
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 25Martínez
- 2Macedo Rocha Machado
- 4Navarro Jiménez
- 5Trujillo
- 3Vélez JiménezBooked at 64minsSubstituted forGarcía Pérez-Roldánat 82'minutes
- 7García RabascoBooked at 11mins
- 22Partey
- 17Méndez Ortega
- 23SorianoBooked at 52minsSubstituted forWellingtonat 67'minutes
- 16DubarbierBooked at 30minsSubstituted forSundy Zongoat 59'minutes
- 10Hemed
Substitutes
- 1Cuesta Díaz
- 6Dos Santos
- 8Wellington
- 11González Casín
- 15García Pérez-Roldán
- 19Sundy Zongo
- 31Azeez
Real Madrid
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Casillas
- 15Carvajal
- 3Pepe
- 2Varane
- 12MarceloBooked at 57mins
- 24IllarramendiBooked at 62mins
- 8Kroos
- 23Isco
- 11BaleBooked at 24mins
- 9BenzemaSubstituted forda Silva Coentrãoat 85'minutes
- 7Cristiano RonaldoBooked at 76mins
Substitutes
- 5da Silva Coentrão
- 13Navas
- 14Hernández
- 17Arbeloa
- 18Nacho
- 20Rodríguez Ruiz
- 26Medrán
- Referee:
- Alfonso Álvarez Izquierdo
- Attendance:
- 15,000
Match Stats
Home TeamAlmeríaAway TeamReal Madrid
- Possession
- Home39%
- Away61%
- Shots
- Home16
- Away15
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away8
- Corners
- Home2
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home14
- Away8
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Almería 1, Real Madrid 4.
Post update
Offside, Real Madrid. Marcelo tries a through ball, but Gareth Bale is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt saved. Marcelo (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Isco.
Post update
Attempt missed. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right misses to the left.
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Attempt saved. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Goal!
Goal! Almería 1, Real Madrid 4. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Daniel Carvajal.
Post update
Corner, Almería. Conceded by Raphael Varane.
Substitution
Substitution, Real Madrid. Fábio Coentrão replaces Karim Benzema.
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Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Jonathan (Almería).
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Attempt blocked. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Pepe with a cross.
Substitution
Substitution, Almería. Corona replaces Fran Vélez.
Goal!
Goal! Almería 1, Real Madrid 3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Karim Benzema.
Post update
Offside, Real Madrid. Gareth Bale tries a through ball, but Toni Kroos is caught offside.
Post update
Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Ángel Trujillo.
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Offside, Real Madrid. Asier Illarramendi tries a through ball, but Toni Kroos is caught offside.
Post update
Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Wellington.
Post update
Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Fran Vélez (Almería).
