Sporting 2-3 Real Madrid: Isco scores twice in thriller

Isco scored a dramatic 90th-minute winner for a much-changed Real Madrid to send them six points clear at the top after a 3-2 win over Sporting Gijon.

The midfielder - who struck a superb equaliser earlier in the game - picked the ball up on the edge of the box and fired low into the corner.

It looked like being a draw for the second week in a row for Real after Sporting twice went ahead.

Duje Cop (14) finished well on the volley from a lofted Mikel Vesga pass, as Real's defence failed to spot his clever run to leave him completely unmarked inside the area.

Three minutes later, the excellent Isco received the ball inside the box and produced a superb piece of skill, dragging the ball one way and shifting it onto his left foot, before curling it into the top corner.

Five minutes after the break, Vesga netted a looping header over the stranded Casilla, before Alvaro Morata nodded one in on the hour, leaving Isco to steal the show late on.

With one eye clearly on the Champions League quarter-final second-leg clash at home to Bayern Munich, Zinedine Zidane made a number of changes to his side.

Gareth Bale and Pepe were absent through injury, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema were left out all together with Tuesday's match in mind.

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Both sides began the game cautiously, but it was Real who should have taken the lead. Lucas Vazquez was alone in the box and somehow managed to steer a free header wide of the mark, after a superb delivery by Danilo.

Against the run of play, Sporting broke clear to take the lead, thanks to a combination of poor defending and clever play.

Sergio Ramos ordered his side to step up in the hope of creating an offside trap, but Vesga was one step ahead of them and his clever pass fell perfectly into the path of Cop and he made no mistake with a volleyed finish.

Sporting last beat the 11-time European champions 1-0 at the Bernabeu in 2011, and had gone even longer without a win over their illustrious opponents at El Molinon, dating all the way back to 1994.

Real, keen to preserve their excellent record in Asturias and avoid a change to that statistic, were level three minutes later courtesy of Isco.

Quick feet from the Spaniard allowed him to ghost past two Sporting defenders and he struck a left-footed effort into the top corner.

After the break, Real came out looking to go ahead and nearly did, but Nacho could only head straight at Cueller and Ramos was unable to get anything on the follow-up.

Sporting found themselves in front again when a high free-kick was nodded back across by Jean Sylvain Babin and Vesga went from provider to scorer, when his header sailed over Casilla.

A response was needed and it came from the head of Morata, who rose above Babin for his 13th league goal of the season and give Real hope for the second time.

Back in November, Ronaldo scored twice to carry Real to a 2-1 win, but without the Portuguese goal machine, Isco was tasked with working similar miracles and he did not disappoint.

Substitute Marcelo played a quick ball into the Spaniard, who turned sharply and this time showed the same accuracy and poise on his right foot to find the bottom corner and send Real six clear at the top of La Liga.