Madrid, Spain – A hat trick from Cristiano Ronaldo guided Real Madrid to a 5-1 win over Deportivo on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid's sputtering start to the campaign meant that the club entered Sunday's contest trailing leaders Barcelona by 11 points.
And the game didn't start well for the home side as Riki put Deportivo ahead in the 16th minute after a pass from Bruno Gama.
However, Real got going midway through the first half as Angel Di Maria was brought down inside the penalty area by Manuel Pablo. Ronaldo converted the spot kick to level the contest, and Madrid never looked back.
Di Maria put his side ahead in the 38th minute when he had a shot saved by goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia, but scored on the rebound, while Ronaldo tallied his second goal of the match with a header shortly before the break.
The onslaught continued in the second half and Pepe nodded home Xabi Alonso's free kick to make it 4-1 before Ronaldo completed his hat trick from the penalty spot after Deportivo's Evaldo was called for handling the ball in his own box.
Madrid now faces Barcelona next weekend with a chance to close the gap to four points should they beat the Catalan side.
Granada 2, Celta Vigo 1
Granada, Spain - Granada scored twice in the opening 20 minutes to claim a 2-1 victory at home against Celta Vigo, the first win of the campaign for the hosts.
Guilherme Siqueira fired Granada in front in the 11th minute when he converted a penalty kick after Celta's Carlos Bellvis brought down Gabriel Torje inside the area.
Torje then doubled the lead in the 17th minute when he swept home a left-wing cross from Siqueira, while the visitors came right back and scored three minutes later as Iago Aspas took advantage of a slip in the Granada defense to net his first goal of the season.
Granada goalkeeper Tono was kept busy after halftime, but he did well to preserve the win, including a fine stop on Park Chu-Young two minutes from time.
Valladolid 6, Rayo Vallecano 1
Valladolid, Spain - Valladolid's three-game losing streak came to an end in emphatic fashion on Sunday as Manucho and Oscar Gonzalez scored two goals apiece in a 6-1 win for Valladolid over Rayo Vallecano.
Rayo got off to a great start when Alejandro Dominguez put them in front after five minutes.
But things turned the wrong way quickly for the visitors, who watched as Valladolid scored three times in the span of 11 minutes courtesy of Alberto Bueno, Manucho and Gonzalez.
Antonio Rukavina made it 4-1 to the home side before halftime, while Gonzalez and Manucho each added a goal after the break to cap the big win.
Osasuna 4, Levante 0
Navarra, Spain - Osasuna exploded to score four goals in the second half of a 4-0 home win over Levante on Sunday.
The hosts were still searching for their first win of the season entering the weekend, and after a scoreless first half, Emiliano Armenteros found the net in the 55th minute when he scored on the rebound after a shot from Alvaro Cejudo hit the post.
The one-goal lead held up as the match entered the final 10 minutes, but Osasuna turned on the offense with three more goals to seal the win.
Roland Lamah followed up Joseba Llorente's shot to net his first goal of the season, while David Timor converted a penalty kick in the 89th minute and Nino capped the scoring in stoppage time.
Atletico Madrid 1, Espanyol 0
Barcelona, Spain - Atletico Madrid stayed within two points of La Liga leaders Barcelona on Sunday as the club grinded out a 1-0 win at Espanyol.
Raul Garcia netted the lone goal on the half-hour mark when he headed home a cross from Juanfran, while Espanyol came close to equalizing in the 77th minute when Christian Stuani narrowly missed the net with a header following Joan Verdu's free kick.
Atletico has won five of its first six games with a draw, while Espanyol has lost five of its six matches and sits on the bottom of the league with one point.
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