Gareth Bale took his tally to eight goals in his last seven games with a hat-trick as Real Madrid shrugged off the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to beat Real Valladolid 4-0.
With
the Portuguese international sidelined by a slight muscle strain, Bale
proved to be decisive as he headed home the opener after Diego Marino
could only parry Angel di Maria's cross.
Three minutes later the Welshman teed up Karim Benzema
to double Madrid's lead with a wonderful in-swinging cross that the
Frenchman bulleted home. Bale grabbed his second of the game when Carlos
Pena could only turn Marcelo's cross into the path of the grateful
former Tottenham man to slot home.
And
Marcelo was again the provider as Bale completed his first hat-trick in
Spanish football with a simple left-footed finish a minute from time.
Victory
moved Real to within three points of leaders Barcelona and Atletico
Madrid, who were also 2-0 victors over Elche on Saturday.
Real
boss Carlo Ancelotti said he believes Bale's goalscoring form is
evidence that he has firmly found his feet in Madrid. In Ronaldo's
absence, Di Maria was given a chance to start and he nearly had the
hosts ahead inside five minutes as he smacked a shot off the underside
of the bar.
Benzema then fired wide and Di
Maria couldn't beat Marino when played clean through on goal as Madrid
pilled on the pressure. And it finally told on 33 minutes when Di Maria
burst down the left and his cross-come-shot was only parried by Marino
into the path of Bale, who headed into the unguarded net.
Moments
later Bale was the provider as his sumptuous cross left Benzema with an
easy task to head home the second. Madrid continued to dominate after
the break and Bale made it three just after the hour mark when he
steered home Marcelo's cross on his weaker right foot.
And
the 24-year-old was left with the easiest of finishes to round off a
perfect hat-trick when he turned home Marcelo's low cross with his left
foot.
Atleti ease to win at Elche
Earlier on Saturday, Atletico Madrid moved level on points with Barcelona at the top of the table after goals from Koke and Diego Costa gave them a hard-fought 2-0 win at Elche.
Earlier on Saturday, Atletico Madrid moved level on points with Barcelona at the top of the table after goals from Koke and Diego Costa gave them a hard-fought 2-0 win at Elche.
After a first-half devoid of clear-cut scoring opportunities, Atletico took the lead on 63 minutes when Koke bundled home from close range when Manuel Herrera could only parry Raul Garcia's shot from distance.
Costa
had endured a quiet afternoon by his standards but he doubled the
advantage 11 minutes later as he raced onto Adrian Lopez's through ball
before slotting home his 18th goal of the season.
Elsewhere,
Celta Vigo beat Almeria 3-1. The visitors took an early 9th-minute lead
through Suso but Celta Vigo stormed back with goals coming from Fabian
Orellana, Borja Oubina Melendez and Charles.
And
the final La Liga match of the day saw Real Sociedad escape Espanyol
with a 2-1 victory due to an unfortunate 88th-minute own goal
from Christian Stuani. The hosts took the lead in the 31st minute
through Jhon Cordoba before Sociedad drew level in the 69th minute with a
fine effort from Antoine Griezmann.
