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| Big hug: Mesut Ozil celebrates with hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo |
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and
passed the landmark of 300 club goals as Real Madrid put a turbulent
week behind them with a 4-0 win at home to Getafe in La Liga on Sunday
to close to within four points of second-placed Atletico Madrid.
The build-up to the game at the Bernabeu had been dominated by a report in Marca sports
daily that said captains Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos had threatened
to leave unless coach Jose Mourinho was dismissed.
Real president Florentino Perez called a
news conference to deny the story and accused the newspaper of lying
and the Spanish champions let their football do the talking with a
comfortable victory against their city rivals.
Prolific: Ronaldo scored his 300th club goal as Real Madrid smashed Getafe 4-0 in an early kick-off
Mourinho, who turned 50 on Saturday,
left several key players out of his starting lineup, including Xabi
Alonso and Sami Khedira, and Real struggled to break through a
determined Getafe defence in the first half.
Once Ramos had scrambled the ball into
the net at a corner eight minutes after the break the home side turned
the screw and Ronaldo struck three times in 10 minutes, the first his
300th club goal.
The Portuguese, who was substituted with
around 15 minutes left after a knock to his right ankle, scored five
for Sporting, 118 for Manchester United and now has 179 for Real thanks
to his 20th career treble.
Lead: Sergio Ramos scored the opening goal for Real Madrid
Real have 43 points from 21 of 38
matches, with Atletico on 47 ahead of their match at Athletic Bilbao
later on Sunday when they will be without injured top scorer Radamel
Falcao.
Leaders Barcelona, who play at Real in
their Spanish Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday, are looking to get
back to winning ways when they host struggling Osasuna.
Tito Vilanova’s side lost their unbeaten
record and dropped points for only the second time this season when
they suffered a 3-2 defeat at Real Sociedad last weekend but still have
an eight-point lead over Atletico.
Chase: Ronaldo's hat-trick helped Real Madrid close the gap to city rivals Atletico to four points
Smile, Jose: Reports this week suggested Iker Casillas and Ramos wanted Jose Mourinho dismissed otherwise they would leave
Getafe, who beat Real 2-1 at their
Coliseum stadium earlier in the season but whose form has dipped in
recent weeks, are 11th on 26 points.
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