Madrid:
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid equalled their biggest ever away win in La Liga with a 8-2 thrashing of Deportivo la Coruna.
Real now trail second-placed Atletico Madrid by two points after the champions missed the chance to go top as they were held 2-2 at home by Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Ronaldo opened the scoring with a fantastic header from Alvaro Arbeloa’s cross, but the Portuguese was upstaged by James Rodriguez and the Colombian doubled the visitors’ advantage with a sumptuous left-footed effort that curled into the top corner.
A goalkeeping howler from German Lux then allowed Ronaldo to fire into an empty net to make it 3-0 before the break, but Depor did manage to pull one back when Haris Medunjanin converted from the penalty spot after Sergio Ramos was adjudged to have handled.
Gareth Bale struck twice in the final 25 minutes before Ronaldo rounded off his hat-trick to ensure Real bounced back in style after suffering consecutive defeats to Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid in their last two league outings.
Toche headed home a late consolation for the hosts, but Javier Hernandez rounded off a fine day for Real when he volleyed home his first two goals for the club since joining on loan from Manchester United.
“The game was defined by the skill and quality we have up front and how clinical we were with the chances we had,” said Real boss Carlo Ancelotti.
“We showed the quality we have. We have a phenomenon in Ronaldo and we have other players with great quality. They combined very well together and that was the best thing we can take from the game.”
Depor’s resistence was broken just before the half hour mark as Ronaldo leapt to meet Arbeloa’s cross and directed a fine header into the far corner from 15 yards out.
Karim Benzema then forced Lux into another smart save moments later, but there was nothing the Argentine ‘keeper could do nine minutes before half-time when Rodriguez scored his first goal in La Liga with a curling effort that dipped in off the underside of the bar.
Lux was badly at fault for Real’s third goal, though, as he raced off his line to close down Benzema and despite bringing down the Frenchman, referee Pedro Jesus Perez Montero allowed play to continue so Ronaldo could double his tally for the afternoon by rolling the ball into an empty net.
