Marcelo has paid tribute to his Real Madrid teammates for the ruthless nature of this afternoon's 9-1 win over Granada at the Bernabeu.

Carlo Ancelotti's side flashed their La Liga title credentials in style by demolishing El Grana to move one point adrift of leaders Barcelona, who have a game in hand.

Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines with a five-goal haul, while Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale also got in on the act, and Marcelo says that "spectacular" Madrid have got their groove back just in time.

"We started the game well, our attitude was spectacular," he told reporters. "We didn't stop at any time, we came to respect Granada and continued playing like we knew best, scoring nine goals.

"We won't win every game we play. We just try to do and accomplish what the coach asks of us. We always want to improve.

On Ronaldo, he added: "He's very mature and I don't need to speak about his performance. He's very happy [about his five goals]. We've improved and it showed on the pitch. We played with character and our confidence returned. We must go on like this."

Los Blancos will try to increase the pressure on Barca when they travel to Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday night.