Espanyol Vs. Real Madrid, 2011 La Liga: Gonzalo Higuain Grabs Hat-Trick In 4-0 Madrid Win

Things looked nervy for a little while for Real Madrid at Espanyol, but a flurry of late goals made the scoreline look far more emphatic for last season's also-rans. For most of the match, the visitors were nursing a 1-0 lead, earned by Gonzalo Higuain in the 17th minute after Crisitano Ronaldo set the Argentina striker free on Cristian Alvarez's goal. They were also looking a little vulnerable to the home side whenever they got numbers forward, and had Espanyol been more clinical in their finishing they'd have put at least one goal past Iker Casillas.

But the best finisher on the pitch belonged to Madrid, and Higuain struck again following the hour mark, latching onto another Ronaldo past and blasting a shot first-time past Alvarez and straight into the top corner to make it 2-0 and give the visitors some breathing room. Ronaldo made it a hat-trick of assists after a very neat trick sliced open Espanyol's defence and presented Jose Callejon with an easy opportunity to notch against his former team, which he did with some reluctance. Higuain then made it a hat-trick of actual goals with a lovely clipped finish over Alvarez with time running out. 4-0 probably overstates Madrid's dominance of the match, but they took their chances, and that's all you can ask of a team.