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Real Madrid went top of La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo set a club scoring record in a 3-0 stroll at home to Levante on Saturday.
Marcelo fired Real ahead in the 27th minute at the Bernabéu when he exchanged passes with Ronaldo and blasted the ball past Rubén in the Levante goal.
Ronaldo made it 2-0 three minutes later when he cracked a long-range effort into the corner, his 324th Real goal putting him one clear of Raúl. It ended a rare four-match goal drought in Spain’s top flight for the Portugal captain, his joint-worst run since he joined Real in 2009.
The substitute Jesé skipped past his marker and drove the ball high into the net to make it 3-0 eight minutes from time as Real secured a morale-boosting win as they build towards Wednesday’s Champions League Group A match at Paris Saint-Germain.
Levante squandered the few chances they created, although Deyverson did force a good save from Keylor Navas, Real’s former Levante goalkeeper, shortly before Ronaldo’s goal.
Elsewhere, Neymar netted his first four-goal haul, including two penalties, for Barcelona on Saturday. It was one of the 23-year-old’s best performances since joining in 2013 as the Spanish and European champions fought back from 1-0 down to beat a spirited Rayo Vallecano 5-2 at the Camp Nou. The visitors took a surprise lead but then Neymar got into the action with his four before he set up Luis Suárez for the fifth.
The win took Barcelona up to 18 points, behind Real Madrid on goal difference. Villarreal can reclaim top spot if they beat visiting Celta Vigo on Sunday, when Atlético Madrid play at Real Sociedad.
