SOCCER:A CRISTIANO Ronaldo hat-trick earned Real Madrid a 4-2 comeback win against a classy Villarreal last night and cut Barcelona's lead to two points. Ronaldo twice equalised for the home side in the first half and fired them in front in the 79th, before setting up substitute Kaka for the fourth near the end.

Jose Mourinho’s side have 47 points, with Barcelona on 49 after the champions swept aside Deportivo Coruna 4-0 on Saturday.

Espanyol crushed Real Zaragoza 4-0 at home to close on a Champions League qualification place. Pablo Osvaldo, Luis Garcia and Alvaro Vazquez had the Barcelona-based side 3-0 up before half-time at Cornella-El Prat. Sergio Garcia rounded off the scoring in the 87th minute.

Real Mallorca won 4-1 at home to Almeria and Osasuna drew 0-0 with Getafe while Sporting Gijon grabbed a last-gasp equaliser to draw 1-1 at Racing Santander.