Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid recorded an emphatic 8-2 win over Deportivo la Coruna in La Liga this afternoon.
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A mistake from Marcelo almost gifted the hosts an early goal, letting Luis Farina through for a shot, but Toni Kroos was back to make the clearance for Real.
German Lux soon came under pressure in the Deportivo goal as Ronaldo tried to set up Karim Benzema, but the French striker fired the ball straight at the keeper.
The visitors did manage to take the lead just before the half-hour mark when Alvaro Arbeloa fired in a cross to Ronaldo, who headed in from the centre of the box.
James Rodriguez doubled their advantage shortly after with his first goal for the club, hammering the ball in from 20 yards out after Benzema fed the ball through to the £63m Colombian.
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Real continued to run at their opponents as half time approached and extended their lead when Lux came off his line to make a clearance, only to slice the ball into the path of Ronaldo, who drilled the ball in low from 30 yards out.
Deportivo had a chance to get back into the match early in the second half when a Sergio Ramos handball gave the hosts a penalty, which Haris Medunjanin converted.
Isaac Cuenca and Farina both had chances to reduce Real's lead further, but they could not get the better of Iker Cassilas.
The visitors soon started to control the play again, with Gareth Bale testing Lux before trying to set Ronaldo up for his hat-trick, only for the Portuguese international to drift offside.
Bale continued to cause problems for the hosts, and added the fourth goal for Madrid by slicing the ball in from the left-hand side of the box with just over 20 minutes to play.
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The Welshman scored a second less than 10 minutes later, when Isco played the ball in after Ronaldo had seen an effort blocked moments earlier.
Ronaldo completed his hat-trick with just over 10 minutes to spare after Rodriguez picked him out with a cross to leave the forward with a tap in from close range.
The hosts had added a late consolation goal when Jose Tosche headed into the bottom corner to reduce the deficit to four goals.
However, Javier Hernandez, who replaced Bale late on, had time to complete a late brace, scoring twice in the space of four minutes to ensure that Real completed the match with a flourish.
Sian Cowper
