Ronaldo, Messi grab hat-tricks

European roundup: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both scored hat-tricks in easy wins as Real Madrid remained two points ahead of Barcelona atop the La Liga table.

Saturday night saw Madrid talisman Ronaldo notch his treble at home to Celta Vigo, with his first coming from a disputed penalty, followed by two crisp penalty area finishes. It was the Portugal captain’s record 23rd hat-trick in La Liga, and took him to 200 goals in just 178 league games in Spain.

Barca hero Messi hit-back in yesterday’s Catalan capital derby, scoring three times to bring his side a 5-1 win, after Barca had surprisingly fallen behind early to neighbours Espanyol. Messi also set a new historic mark — becoming the all-time top scorer in Catalan capital derbies.

Spain international Gerard Pique and Pedro Rodriguez were also on the scoresheet, with ex- Liverpool player Luis Suarez drawing another blank and being substituted mid-way through the second-half.

Champions Atletico Madrid stay in third position in the Primera Division, a further two points back, after goals from centre-back Jose Maria Gimenez and centre-forward Mario Mandzukic sealed a routine 2-0 win at struggling Elche.

David Moyes’ impressive start as Real Sociedad coach came to an end last night as second-half goals from Bruno Soriano, Denis Cheryshev and Moi Gómez (two) saw his side crash to a 4-0 defeat again Villarreal.

The biggest shock in La Liga came at Athletic Bilbao, where Cordoba won 1-0 for a first win of the season. It was also the Andalucian outfit’s first three points in the top division in 42 years, as they have struggled on their return to Spain’s elite level after so long away.

Elsewhere Bayern Munich remained seven points clear in the Bundesliga standings, after Arjen Robben’s second-half strike was enough for Pep Guardiola’s injury-hit side to win 1-0 at home to an in-form Bayer Leverkusen.

Wolfsburg remain in second spot after a 3-1 win over Hannover 96, in which ex-Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne continued his impressive run of recent displays with the opening goal.

At the other end of the German table struggling Borussia Dortmund got a badly needed three points to lift themselves from the bottom, with Ilkay Gundogan’s first-half strike lifting the pressure on coach Jurgen Klopp.

In Serie A leaders Juventus could only draw 0-0 at Fiorentina on Friday night, with the Italian champions having rested some players ahead of Tuesday’s key Champions League game at home to Atletico Madrid.

Nearest challengers Roma could not take advantage however, and remain three points back. With their midweek European make-or-break meeting with Manchester City possibly a distraction, Rudi Garcia’s side were 2-0 down early at home to Sassuolo, but came back to draw thanks to Adam Ljajic’s late double.

Genoa moved up to third by beating an ailing AC Milan 1-0 thanks to a rare goal from left-back Luca Antonelli, while Parma remain rock bottom after losing for a fourth consecutive game — 1-2 at home to Lazio.