A hard-fought contest between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid and it wasn’t until midway through the second half that Real took control, a hat-trick from Ronaldo helping them on their way to a 1-4 victory.
Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 25th minute and Real kept the lead until ten minutes into the second half when Falcao grabbed an equaliser. Two more from Ronaldo, one from the penalty spot, and another from substitute Callejón put the result almost beyond doubt although Atlético continued to press right up until the final whistle.
Real now lead Barcelona by four points at the top of La Liga.
Valencia moved back up into third place, at least temporarily, with a 4-1 win over Rayo Vallecano. Jonas with two, Alba and Pablo were on target for Valencia, Diego Costa scoring for Rayo.
Málaga could move back to third if they beat Villarreal tonight.