Cristiano Ronaldo scores five as Real Madrid destroy Granada

Cristiano Ronaldo stole a march on Lionel Messi in the race for the Pichichi by scoring five – including an eight-minute hat-trick, in an incredible 9-1 rout of Granada.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side had to wait until the 25th minute to take the lead through Gareth Bale, but that only opened the floodgates as Ronaldo scored a hat-trick before half-time to give Real a 4-0 lead.

And Los Blancos continued with such gusto after the break, with Ronaldo adding another and Karim Benzema bagging a double.

Double figures looked to be on the cards, as La Liga’s second-bottom side crumbled all over the pitch, but a number of changes saw the flow of the contest stemmed.

Granada grabbed a consolation goal before a Diego Mainz own goal and another Ronaldo goal gave Real Madrid a sensational 9-1 win – the biggest margin of victory in La Liga this season.

KEY EVENTS

9’ BENZEMA CHANCE: Good effort from Benzema! James sends a cross to the back post looking for the French striker, who met it on the volley. But Oier gets down well to make the save at his near post. That would have been some goal!

15’ GRANADA OPPORTUNITY: The away side come close to finding a surprise lead! Real Madrid give the ball away cheaply, with Ibanez sending a side-footed shot towards goal from inside the box. But it flashed just wide.

23’ ARBELOA SITTER: What a sitter for Arbeloa, of all people! Marcelo crosses into the six yard box from the byline, with Arbeloa trying to flick the ball into the gaping net with the outside of his foot. Why didn’t he just side-foot it home?

27’ GOAL! Real Madrid 1 Granada 0: Kroos finds the run of Bale in behind the Granada defence, and the Welshman rounds the keeper and taps into the empty net.

33’ GOAL! Real Madrid 2 Granada 0: The home side have their second goal! Ronaldo curls a right-footed finish into the far corner to put Real Madrid 2-0 up.

40’ GOAL! Real Madrid 3 Granada 0: There’s Real Madrid’s third and Ronaldo’s second. The Portuguese volleys home from six yards after Marcelo’s cross causes mayhem.

42’ GOAL! Real Madrid 4 Granada 0: Well, that didn’t take long. Ronaldo has his hat-trick, although Oier should have done better with his save from the 20-yard shot.

45’ WOODWORK: What an incredible strike! El-Arabi smashes a strike towards goal from 25 yards out, striking the bar with Casillas completely beaten. But bounces down on to he goalline and away. So unlucky!

54’ GOAL! Real Madrid 5 Granada 0: This is a rout from Real Madrid! Benzema takes down a corner kick on his chest and volleys home with aplomb. What an excellent goal.

57’ GOAL! Real Madrid 6 Granada 0: There’s another. Bale gets in behind the Granada backline and crosses for Ronaldo to head home his fourth of the game.

59’ GOAL! Real Madrid 7 Granada 0: This is getting outrageous now. Benzema takes another down on his chest and squeezes home a finish via a deflection.

68’ RONALDO CHANCE: Ronaldo probably should have had a fifth. He gets in behind the opposition backline to latch on to a Bale through ball, but, to his credit, Oier comes out quickly to smother his shot from close range.

69’ BALE FREEKICK: That certainly wasn’t far away from Bale! The Welshman strikes a freekick from the edge of the box towards goal, but he can only find the side netting. Much of the home crowd thought that was in!

70’ HERNANDEZ SITTER: How didn’t he score? Marcelo sends a wonderful cross into the Granada box for Hernandez to attack, but the on loan Manchester United striker somehow heads straight at the keeper.

71’ RONALDO SITTER: Ronaldo should have scored a fifth, and an eighth for Real Madrid. Bale exchanges passes with the Portuguese, sending him clear through, but he somehow sticks his shot wide of the near post.

75’ GOAL! Real Madrid 7 Granada 1: The away side have a consolation goal to treasure. Ibanez breaks in behind the Real defence and squeezes his shot underneath Casillas.

83’ GOAL! Real Madrid 8 Granada 1: And there’s the eighth. Mainz sends the ball into his own net as he tries to cut out a Marcelo pass across the box to Ronaldo.

89’ GOAL! Real Madrid 9 Granada 1: This is getting silly now! Ronaldo has FIVE! This time he heads home at the far post from a Modric freekick.

KEY STATS

Granada suffered their biggest ever La Liga defeat by losing 9-1 to Real Madrid.

This was the first time Cristiano Ronaldo has scored five goals in one match as a Real Madrid player.

Ronaldo has now tied Di Alfredo Stefano for the most hat-tricks (28) in Real Madrid history.

TALKING POINT – Are Real Madrid a better team with James Rodriguez in the lineup?

Having missed the last few months of action through a metatarsal injury, James made his return to first-team action against Granada, and made quite the impression. Playing on the left side of Real’s midfield three, he provided perfect balance to Los Blancos’ central unit, putting on two assists in the process. Real Madrid look to be a better side with James back in the lineup.

MAN OF THE MATCH – Cristiano Ronaldo

It’s almost compulsory for a player who scores five in one match – including three in eight minutes – to be handed the Man of the Match award, but the frightening thing for Granada is that Ronaldo probably should have ended up with more. In fact, the Portuguese forward could have ended up with double figures himself, considering the number of opportunities he passed up. Nevertheless, Ronaldo was in scintillating form – even if it was against La Liga’s second bottom side.

PLAYER RATINGS

Real Madrid – Casillas 7, Marcelo 6, Ramos 5, Varane 5, Arbeloa 6, James 8, Kroos 7, Modric 8, Bale 8, Benzema 7, Ronaldo 9. Subs – Illarramendi 5, Jese 6, Hernandez 5.

Granada – Oier 4, Carlos 5, Mainz 5, Babin 7, Foulquier 6, Rico 5, Iturra 4, Candeias 6, Ruben 5, Ibanez 6, El-Arabi 6. Subs – Piti 5, Eddy 5, Murillo 5.