Cristiano Ronaldo struck five times as Real Madrid routed Granada 9-1 yesterday.

Gareth Bale went some way to silencing his critics with a 25th-minute opener after rounding the keeper before Ronaldo took centre stage and propelled Real to a 4-0 half-time lead with strikes in the 30th, 36th and 38th minutes.

A second-half flurry of three goals in four minutes then saw Karim Benzema add Real's fifth in the 52nd minute before Ronaldo headed in his fourth of the match soon after. Benzema then slotted his second and the host's seventh in the 56th minute.

Robert Ibanez pulled one back for Granada in the 74th but it proved to be only a small consolation for the visitors, especially as a calamitous own goal by Diego Mainz leaked an eighth at the other end before the irrepressible Ronaldo claimed his fifth in the 90th minute.

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti said: "Everything went to plan. My team are in good physical shape, the players are fresh and we showed that throughout the match. We played with a good tempo and scored bags of goals. We come away from this happy but this is just one game and we have other important ones coming up. On Wednesday we need to be fully focused like we were today.

"It's simple mathematics. It's better to win 9 games 1-0 than one 9-1. But today we have to point out the good play, the team are back to playing as desired, just like they have played many times before. What mattered most was winning and playing well and we have achieved that."