1-4: Big win in Almería to close out 2014 in La Liga

Even better could not be impossible. Nothing more could be asked of Real Madrid, who picked up their twentieth consecutive victory in Almería and can know focus on the Club World Cup, which is being held in Morocco. The home side came out eager to catch the La Liga leaders off guard, but on the 10-minute mark Real Madrid began to control possession and were denied an opener three minutes later by the crossbar. Rubén punched the ball away and Kroos caught it on the volley from outside the box, but Fran Velez got his head onto it just enough to knock it onto the woodwork.

The Whites started to look more and more dangerous but lacked accuracy in terms of their final pass as well as their shooting. That was until Isco carved out a cracker in the 34’, a goal that was not only significant as a work of art but also because it offered some respite in a game that could have quite easily become a complicated affair. The Spanish international's control alone would make watching the reply worthwhile. His technique, which saw him create space for himself with two dummies before dispatching a precise shot that a fully stretched Rubén could do nothing to prevent, a fact that added even more beauty to the goal.

Tense minutes
The hardest job was now done, but a courageous Almería was not willing to throw the towel in and the complexion of the game changed within the space of three minutes. That was the amount of time that passed between Verza's wonder goal from a volley in the 39’ until Bale's header in what was the British man's 50th La Liga win. Kroos crossed the ball in from the right and the Welshman, who timed his jump to perfection, put his team in front once again.