Real's listless effort leaves Zidane unfazed

Zinedine Zidane admitted his side had an afternoon to forget on Saturday, despite Real Madrid moving seven points clear atop the La Liga standings thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's double in a 2-1 win over Sporting Gijon.

Victory extended Real's unbeaten run in all competitions to 31 matches, but Madrid was grateful to a late Duje Cop missed penalty to secure all three points against a Sporting side that hasn't won in 10 games.

Fresh from netting a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid the previous weekend, Ronaldo continued his return to scoring form and moved ahead of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as La Liga's top scorer.