La Liga Review: Ronaldo back to his best, Deportivo play out thrilling draw

Cristiano Ronaldo was at his scintillating best as he hammered four goals past Celta Vigo to help keep Real Madrid’s slim La Liga hopes alive in a 7-1 win.

Sixth-placed Celta were no match for Madrid, but it took 41 minutes for the deadlock to be broken, with the visitors almost taking the lead through Iago Aspas, who struck the post with a header.

Madrid defender Pepe scored the opener with a towering header, before Ronaldo netted the first of his four with a thunderbolt in the 50th minute.

Ronaldo scored his second eight minutes later via a trademark free-kick, before Aspas made amends for his earlier miss when he made it 3-1.

The Portugal captain scored his third not long after, adding a fourth with a huge header, as Jese Rodriguez and Gareth Bale completed the rout for Madrid, who remain third in the standings – nine points adrift of leaders Barcelona.

Deportivo La Coruna and Malaga could not be separated in a topsy-turvy match that ended 3-3.

The scores were tied at half-time after Malaga’s Celso Borges cancelled out Charles’ 29th-minute opener, until the teams exchanged two goals each in the second half.

Ignacio Camacho made it 2-1 to Malaga in the 63rd minuted, but their lead was short-lived as Deportivo’s Federico Cartabia levelled the scores after 69 minutes as team-mate Lucas Perez put the home side 3-2 up with 10 minutes to play.

But they could not hold on as Alejandro Arribas scored a cruel own-goal to consign his side to just a share of the points.

Las Palmas secured a huge 1-0 win away from home, upstaging fourth-placed Villarreal courtesy of a David Garcia strike to move four points clear of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Getafe and Sevilla played out a 1-1 draw after Emiliano Velasquez cancelled out Ever Banega’s 79th-minute opener with four minutes remaining.