Ronaldo treble secures Madrid derby spoils

A hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo helped settle the capital derby in Real Madrid CF's favour as the Merengues restored their four-point lead at the Liga summit with a 4-1 win at Club Atlético de Madrid.

José Mourinho's team responded to FC Barcelona's 4-0 defeat of Getafe CF 24 hours earlier with a victory that extends their unbeaten record against the Rojiblancos to 23 matches in all competitions. They opened the scoring when Ronaldo (25) fired a dipping free-kick past Thibaut Courtois, only for Falcao (55) to head in Adrián López's cross.

The Portugal striker doubled his and Madrid's tally on 68 minutes with a dipping, right-footed effort from outside the penalty area, and completed his seventh Liga treble of the campaign from the spot after Diego Godín had barged over Gonzalo Higuaín.

Ronaldo – now on 40 league goals for the season, the total with which he won the ESM Golden Shoe last term – turned provider for José Callejón late on.

Elsewhere, Jonas scored twice as Valencia CF climbed into third courtesy of a 4-1 defeat of Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, while fifth-placed Levante UD wasted the chance to move into fourth, losing 3-2 at strugglers Real Sporting de Gijón. Granada CF against Athletic Club finished 2-2.