Ronaldo hits hat-trick as Real, Atletico win

Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick as Real Madrid thrashed Real Sociedad 5-2 in La Liga Saturday to warm up for their Champions League clash with Paris St Germain in style. Atletico Madrid saw off Malaga 1-0 in a tight game to provisionally close the gap on leader Barcelona to six points. Real's big victory over Sociedad took them third above Valencia but they trail Barca by 16 points as they turn their attention to the defence of their Champions League title against PSG at the Bernabeu Wednesday. Zinedine Zidane rested Casemiro and Gareth Bale with one eye on that, but the Welsh winger's replacement Lucas Vazquez took full advantage when he headed home Ronaldo's cross after 49 seconds. Karim Benzema struck the post with a low effort as he failed to break his scoring drought, the French striker is now without a league goal since November, as Real pressed to add to their advantage. They did just that after 27 minutes when a brilliant turn by Asensio unlocked Sociedad's defence and Marcelo crossed for Ronaldo to slam home from close range.

Look at @SDEIbar! ?⬆#LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/fKmXca5SoT

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) February 10, 2018

Toni Kroos curled home the third from outside the area and Ronaldo headed home Luka Modric's corner in a four-minute spell before the interval. The Portuguese forward completed his treble after Geronimo Rulli beat away substitute Bale's long-range effort. Jon Bautista and Asier Illaramendi netted consolation goals for Real Sociedad. In Malaga, second-placed Atletico went ahead almost instantly when Antoine Griezmann capitalised on Saul Niguez's deflected strike falling at his feet close to goal. Jan Oblak saved a Roberto Rosales free kick in the second half as Atletico kept their opponent at bay to earn a narrow victory in typical fashion. Malaga, rooted to the bottom of the table, have picked up two points in their last eight games. Alaves continued their good form under Abelardo, winning 2-1 at fifth-place Villarreal to climb to 16th and seven points above the relegation zone while Eibar moved sixth thanks to a 1-0 win at Leganes as Ivan Ramis scored deep into stoppage-time.

.@realmadriden have been the only team to win at home so far this weekend!#LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/KgAxJutd6o

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) February 10, 2018

RESULTSVillarreal 1 (Bacca 77) Alaves 2 (Ely 39, Gomez 71)Malaga 0 Atletico 1 (Griezmann 1)Leganes 0 Eibar 1 (Ramis 90+4)Real Madrid 5 (Vazquez 1, Ronaldo 27, 37, 80, Kroos 34) Sociedad 2 (Bautista 74, Illarramendi 83)  SUNDAY'S MATCHESSevilla v Girona, Barcelona v Getafe, Celta v Espanyol and Valencia v Levante