Cristiano Ronaldo scored his third hat-trick of the season and Gareth Bale provided another assist as Real Madrid continued their impressive form with a 5-1 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday. Ronaldo opened the scoring from Karim Benzema's pass on 12 minutes before returning the favour for the Frenchman to slot home six minutes later.
The Portuguese added the third from the penalty spot before Bale played in Sami Khedira to make it 4-0 after just 36 minutes. Antoine Griezmann restored some pride for the visitors with his sixth goal in his last three league games after the break. But Ronaldo rounded off the scoring with a sensational free-kick to take his tally for the season to 24 goals in just 17 games.
Victory moves Real to within two points of neighbours Atletico Madrid and three of leaders Barcelona with the top two both in action on Sunday. Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema started together up front for the fourth consecutive game after combining for 12 goals and eight assists in the previous three.