Cristiano Ronaldo netted another hat trick in Real Madrid’s 5-1 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday, as the Portugal forward extended his scoring run to nine goals in his last four games.
Ronaldo’s latest bundle of goals took him three past Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa as the leading scorer in the Spanish league with 16 through 13 rounds. Ronaldo also tops the Champions League with eight goals.
“[Ronaldo] is playing on another level,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “He scores with such incredible ease. It’s tough to find words to describe him.”
Madrid’s win pulled it to within two points of Atletico and three points behind league leader Barcelona before they have matches on Sunday.
Ronaldo opened the scoring, adding another goal from the penalty spot and a third with a well-placed free kick. Karim Benzema also kept up his good form by scoring while Gareth Bale set up Sami Khedira for a goal.
Ronaldo has eight multi-goal performances, including three hat tricks, in 17 matches for Madrid this season. He will hope to keep his streak going when Portugal plays Sweden in a two-leg playoff on Nov. 15 and 19 with only the winner qualifying for the next year World Cup.