Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as table-toppers Real Madrid recorded a 4-1 victory over Alaves in Saturday afternoon's La Liga clash in the Basque Country.
The home side led inside seven minutes through Deyverson, but a treble from Ronaldo, who both scored and missed from the penalty spot, and a late Alvaro Morata effort secured all the points for the visitors.
Real Madrid dominated the early exchanges in terms of possession, but it was Alaves that made the breakthrough in the seventh minute of action when Los Blancos goalkeeper Keylor Navas palmed a Victor Camarasa cross straight into the path of Deyverson, who simply could not pass up the chance to fire home from close range.
Gareth Bale did have the ball in the back of the Alaves net in the 12th minute, but the Welshman's effort was ruled offside as Real Madrid's frustrations continued in the early exchanges of the contest.
The visitors were level five minutes later, however, when Ronaldo netted from the penalty spot after Brazilian forward Deyverson was adjudged to have handled a Bale free kick inside his own box. Replays, though, showed that the ball made contact with Deyverson's head rather than his elbow as Real Madrid received a slice of luck.
Neither team really grabbed hold of the match as the first period continued to develop, however, and it was arguably Alaves that looked the more threatening as on-loan Atletico Madrid teenager Theo Hernandez continued to drive at the shaky Danilo in a wide position.
Real Madrid took the lead in the 33rd minute of action though when Ronaldo collected a smart pass from Karim Benzema before arrowing one into the far corner courtesy of a deflection off Zouhair Feddal, which beat Alaves goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco.
Bale had a couple of attempts late in the first period as Zinedine Zidane's side looked for a third, but the first period ended with three goals from the only three shots on target from both teams.
Alaves had a chance to level the scores moments into the second half when Camarasa broke into the Real Madrid box before attempting to slide the ball under Navas, but the Costa Rican made the save.
The hosts continued to look dangerous and had another attempt on target 10 minutes into the second period through Deyverson, but Navas again made the stop as Real Madrid played a dangerous game.
The visitors were extremely lacklustre in the opening 20 minutes of the second period and it did not come as a surprise when Morata replaced Benzema midway through the half as Zidane looked to make sure of all three points.
Ronaldo tried the spectacular 20 minutes from time after meeting a deep free kick, but the 31-year-old's bicycle kick was wide of the post as Alaves remained in the game approaching the final third of action in the Basque Country.
Ronaldo had a chance to score his third of the match after being pulled to the ground by Daniel Torres inside the Alaves box 10 minutes from time, but the Portugal captain saw his second penalty of the match saved by Pacheco.
The visitors did find the back of the net on two more occasions in the latter stages, however, with Morata chipping Pacheco in the 84th minute for 3-1, before Ronaldo slammed home a low cross from Marcelo to complete his hat-trick as Los Blancos moved three points clear of second-placed Sevilla.
Next up for Real Madrid is a Champions League group match with Legia Warsaw on Wednesday night, before welcoming Leganes in the league next weekend. Alaves, meanwhile, will attempt to return to winning ways away to Osasuna next Saturday night.
Matt Law
