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| Ronaldo celebrating first goal of his Sunday night hat-trick |
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and set up another goal for Kaka as Real Madrid twice fought back from deficits to defeat Villarreal 4-2 in a thrilling encounter at the Bernabeu.
Villarreal led through goals from Cani and Marco Ruben during a hugely impressive first-half display, but they were pegged back each time by strikes from Ronaldo.
The second half belonged almost entirely to Madrid and Ronaldo gave the home side the lead they deserved with his third of the match 10 minutes from time, and two minutes later he provided the pass for the fit-again Kaka to score his first goal of the season.
The victory means Madrid, who beat Villarreal 6-2 in last season's corresponding fixture, have now won 17 successive competitive matches at home and move back to within two points of leaders Barcelona.
Valencia's Juan Mata scored a late goal to settle the city derby 1-0 against Levante and make amends for his earlier penalty miss.
A nervy contest, high on endeavour but woefully short on quality, was settled by Mata's controversial strike seven minutes from time.
The Spain international looked suspiciously offside when he was played through by Vicente but ignored the protests to run on and coolly slot his shot past home keeper Manuel Reina and into the bottom right-hand corner.
It was a moment of redemption for Mata, who fired his spot-kick over the bar in the 26th minute.
Fifth-placed Espanyol returned to winning ways as they thrashed struggling Real Zaragoza 4-0.
Goals from Dani Osvaldo, Luis Garcia - from the penalty spot - and Alvaro Vazquez saw the home side race into a 3-0 lead at the break and Sergio Garcia added a fourth late on to ensure a first success of 2011 for the Catalan outfit and make it eight wins from nine at Cornella for Mauricio Pochettino's men.
Osasuna and Getafe drew 0-0 while Real Mallorca gained revenge for their midweek Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Almeria as they beat the Andalusian side 4-1.
The islanders raced into a 2-0 lead at the break thanks to goals from Ivan Ramis and Victor Casadesus.
And although Albert Crusat reduced the deficit for Almeria halfway through the second period, Mallorca hit back straight away through Emilio N'Sue and sealed a satisfying victory with a late Michael Pereira effort.
Diego Castro scored an injury-time equaliser to help Sporting Gijon climb off the bottom of the table in a 1-1 draw with Racing Santander.
For so long it had looked as though Gregory's first-half own goal would condemn the Rojiblancos to a 10th defeat of the season, until Castro's late intervention.
The point lifts Manuel Preciado's men above Almeria and Zaragoza on goal difference.
THE STORY OF THE WONDER BOY RONALDO CONTINUES: Read it @ CNN report
Ronaldo and Kaka keep Real Madrid's title hopes alive
January 9, 2011 -- Updated 2213 GMT (0613 HKT)
Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo celebrate another goal as Real Madrid twice come from behind to beat Villarreal.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick inspires Real Madrid to 4-2 win over third-placed Villarreal
- Kaka scores fourth goal in Bernabeu comeback as Real twice come from behind
- Ronaldo takes his tally to 31 goals this season in all competitions
- Valencia close to within two points of Villarreal with controversial derby victory
The Portugal forward took his goal tally to an incredible 49 in 47 league games since his $130 million move from Manchester United in 2009 as he fired his fourth hat-trick this season in Sunday night's 4-2 win over third-placed Villarreal.
The visitors had threatened to become the first team to win at the Santiago Bernabeu this season, leading 2-1 after 18 minutes, but Ronaldo completed his treble to put Real ahead and then set up a clinching goal by substitute Kaka to keep his side two points behind leaders Barcelona.
Kaka was delighted after his winning contribution, and also hailed Ronaldo's heroics.
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"He has decided many matches and will continue to do so for Real Madrid. He is a great player that stuns us all day after day with goals and his way of playing. He is fundamental to this team," the former world player of the year said.
He has decided many matches and will continue to do so. He is a great player that stuns us all day after day
--Kaka on teammate Ronaldo
--Kaka on teammate Ronaldo
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Ronaldo has now scored 22 goals in 18 La Liga games this season, and 31 overall.
With defending champions Barca having beaten Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 on Saturday, Real were rocked when Ruben Cani put Villarreal ahead in the sixth minute.
But Ronaldo was on hand to equalize from close range three minutes later after Karim Benzema and Mesut Ozil combined well to set him up.
Benzema was starting up front in the continued absence of Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain, who will have back surgery on Tuesday. The Real squad took to the pitch wearing shirts supporting him with the words "Stay strong Pipa. Get well soon."
But it was Villarreal who scored next as Marco Ruben beat the offside trap and sent a delightful chip over goalkeeper Iker Casillas for his first goal for the club.
Ronaldo struck a vital blow when he equalized in the first minute of time added on, stealing a header from Xabi Alonso's free-kick.
But Real struggled to find a winner until Kaka came on for his first home appearance this season with 20 minutes to play, having returned as a substitute in the meaningless midweek Spanish Cup second-leg defeat at Levante.
Nine minutes later the Brazilian's cross was not dealt with by Villarreal keeper Diego Lopez, and Ronaldo finally fired in a low shot after the ball ran loose -- though he appeared to have come back from an offside position.
There was no doubt about the fourth goal on 82 minutes, as Ronaldo slipped a clever pass into the box and Kaka poked the ball past Lopez.
Real coach Jose Mourinho's wild celebrations prompted an angry reaction on the Villarreal bench, with coach Juan Carlos Garrido already sent off for protesting the third goal.
Real return to action on Thursday for the first leg of the Spanish Cup quarterfinal against city rivals Atletico, who travel to Hercules in La Liga on Monday.
In Sunday's other games, fourth-placed Valencia closed the gap on Villarreal to two points after a controversial 1-0 win in the derby at Levante.
Juan Mata followed up his late winner in last weekend's win over Espanyol with another goal that appeared to be offside as he broke free to score with seven minutes left.
The winger missed a first-half penalty, clipping the top of the crossbar, and then in the second half he had a curling free-kick tipped onto the woodwork.
Espanyol are a point back in fifth after thrashing bottom club Real Zaragoza 4-0 at home, while Mallorca joined sixth-placed Atletico and Getafe on 27 points with a 4-1 win over relegation-threatened Almeria.
Getafe could only draw 0-0 at Osasuna, who moved five points clear of the bottom three.
Sporting Gijon moved above Almeria and Zaragoza on goal difference after drawing 1-1 at Racing Santander thanks to a 90th-minute equalizer from midfielder Diego Castro.
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