Cristiano Ronaldo broke his four-game scoring drought with a hat-trick as Real Madrid trounced lowly Málaga 7-0 in La Liga to trim the gap with leaders Barcelona back to seven points.
The Portuguese forward's uncharacteristic barren patch ended when he netted Real's fourth in the 51st minute at the Bernabeu after goals from Karim Benzema, Angel Di Maria and Marcelo had put Jose Mourinho's side 3-0 ahead at the break.
France striker Benzema added a fifth in the 62nd and Ronaldo blasted the ball home from the penalty spot in the 68th after defender Manolo Gaspar had been shown a second yellow card for handling in the area.
Ronaldo completed his treble with just over 10 minutes left before leaving the pitch to a rapturous ovation from the fans despite the fact Mourinho had already made three substitutions and Real had to play the rest of the match with 10 men.
The club said in a statement Ronaldo had felt muscle tightness in his left leg and the player told reporters he may not be available for Sunday's match at Racing Santander.
"I did it when I scored the third goal but I am sure it's nothing special," Ronaldo said. "It's better not to take risks. I don't think I'll be available for Sunday's match."
Málaga were reduced to nine a few minutes earlier when Cala was carried off on a stretcher with what looked like a serious ankle injury and the visitors had also used all three subs.
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