Cristiano Ronaldo scores hat trick in Real Madrid’s 3-2 win over Sevilla

A start-to-finish slugging match some some magnificent goals and magical moments, headlined by a Cristiano Ronaldo hat trick as Real Madrid snapped Sevilla’s long home unbeaten streak with a 3-2 win.

You could be forgiven for forgetting the first half hour of this match. It wasn’t particularly memorable, with Real Madrid taking awhile to get in to the match beyond dominating possession, with Sevilla happy to give it to them while they looked to exploit Madrid on the counter attack. The flow of the match flipped around in a hurry though, starting when a clash of heads between Sergio Ramos and Grzegorz Krychowiak left Sevilla’s Polish midfielder clutching at his face with blood gushing out of an apparently broken nose. It took several minutes for Krychowiak to get back on the pitch, and Madrid took full advantage of his absence.

A divine run for Isco down Sevilla’s right side saw the tricky midfielder find space to send in a wonderful cross from the byline, his chipped effort arcing over Sevilla’s defense and finding the head of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese megastar whipped in a header to the far post that caught Segio Rico slightly off-balance at the near post, and the young keeper could only get a finger on the ball before it snapped the back of the net.

Less than a minute later, it was Ronaldo again, this time using the bottom of his foot to redirect a clever flicked header from Javier Hernandez in the box, and after Sevilla were left stunned, going from an even affair to staring up at a two-goal deficit in a matter of moments.

Sevilla didn’t drop their heads a bit, though, and kept punching away at their opponents, creating chances to score and making Real Madrid nervous. Those nerves eventually broke, coming in the form of a terrible challenge from Sergio Ramos in the box on Reyes earning Sevilla a penalty in stoppage time and Ramos a yellow card. Carlos Bacca converted the penalty with ease, sending Iker Casillas the wrong way and giving Sevilla a sliver of hope.

That hope was amplified early in the second half, with Sevilla pushing forward hard and fast and constantly, throwing Madrid’s back line completely off balance and creating a couple wonderful chances to score as they tore Madrid’s defense apart over and over again -- but Sevilla couldn’t find their finishing touch, and would be made to pay for that profligacy.

Gareth Bale made his injury return a little over an hour in to he match, and it wasn’t long before he made his presence felt. A storming run saw him gut Sevilla’s defense, and he lobbed in a gorgeous cross that Ronaldo got his head to, curling in a stunning header that bent around Rico in goal and nestling in at the far post. That completed his hat trick in stunning fashion, giving Ronaldo three gorgeous goals as he closes on the all-time Real Madrid scoring record currently held by Raul.

Sevilla weren’t done, though, with a few dice-rolling substitutes finally paying off when Kevin Gameiro, Alex Vidal, and Vicente Iborra combined to twist Madrid’s defense in to knots, with Iborra getting the last touch as Iker Casillas was left helpless against the shot. That gave Sevilla the incentive they needed to really cut loose, creating seveal stunning scoring opportunities that required a herculean effort from Casillas to keep out of the net, but some how, some way, Casillas did the job.

The win sees Madrid keep pace in the La Liga title race, still sitting two points behind Barcelona after the blaugranes hung eight goals on Cordoba earlier today. It also snaps a 38-match home unbeaten run for Sevilla, but Sevilla should still be proud of their efforts, putting in an incredible effort that came within inches of earning a draw or a win. Madrid definitely know that they were in a fight today, and this was an excellent test for them ahead of their Champions League tie against Juventus.

Goal: Bacca (pen. 45’+2), Iborra (80’)

Goals: Ronaldo (36’, 37’, 69’)

1. Javier Hernandez has found his form at the perfect time - For much of this season, Chicharito has languished in awful form for Real Madrid, doing nothing to convince anyone that he’s ready for a greater role on the big stage of world football. He’s been forced in to action of late by Karim Benzema’s injury, however, and he’s responded magnificently, scoring four goals and impressing even when he’s not finding the back of the net. That continued in this match, using disruptive runs to pull defenders out of position and create space for Ronaldo and Isco to run in to, and showing excellent awareness to set up Ronaldo’s second goal.

2. You just can’t intimidate Sevilla - Even with a sudden two goal deficit against one of the giants of footbal and some awfully aggressive challenges flying against them, Sevilla kept their chins up and kept fighting back, never giving up and never looking like they felt outclassed or overmatched. They kept playing their game, not letting Madrid dictate what would happen, and you have to admire them for that despite the result. Unai Emery has built an excellent side that never says die, and it’s little surprise that Sevilla has become a favorite side of neutral observers of La Liga.

3. Sergio Ramos is Real Madrid’s crazy glue - The phrasing of that term is very important. Ramos’ quality and versatility to be able to play at center back, right back, or in midfield at a high level allows Madrid to weather some pretty bad injury storms, and gives Carlo Ancelotti some interesting tactical options even when his side is healthy. That quality comes with a risk, though, as he’s always a moment away from an insane challenge that could hurt Madrid, as we saw today when he risked about four separate yellow cards and gave up a penalty. It’s always a tightrope walk with Ramos, but for Madrid it’s one well worth the challenge.