Ronaldo fires five-star Real

Ronaldo fired his 17th career hat-trick to signal his intentions ahead of next weekend's clash with arch-rivals and league leadersBarcelona  and his showdown with Lionel Messi.

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The 27-year-old had stated he was feeling sad about life in the Spanish capital but this latest display would have put a smile on his face.

Jose Mourinho's men are eight points adrift of the Catalan side going into the game at the Santiago Bernabeu, according to CNN.

While Barca will provide far stiffer opposition thanDeportivo La Coruna, this was still a scintillating showing from Ronaldo and Real.

Deportivo had lost on its previous six visits to the Bernabeu but took a shock lead through former Real man Riki after 16 minutes.

But that was as good as it got for the visitors as Ronaldo fired his first treble since April.

The former Manchester United man equalized from the penalty spot before Angel Di Maria put the home side ahead.

Ronaldo grabbed his second after Sergio Ramos' effort was only parried by the goalkeeper and Pepe added a fourth with his first goal in ten months.

Ronaldo completed his hat-trick six minutes from time from the penalty spot after a handball by Evaldo Santos.

Atletico Madrid  claimed a 1-0 win at Espanyol to go second in La Liga with Raul Garcia's goal enough to secure the points.

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