Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín scored twice each as a 4-2 win at Getafe CF returned Real Madrid CF to the top of the Spanish table, while neighbours Club Atlético de Madrid beat Athletic Club 2-0.

Ronaldo put Madrid ahead from a direct free-kick on 13 minutes, Rafael van der Vaart teed up Higuaín to hammer home a second midway through the first half, and the same player made it 3-0 soon after, slotting in left-footed from Fernando Gago's through ball. It was his 22nd goal in as many league games this season.

When Ronaldo made it 4-0 on 36 minutes with a confident finish, it looked like Getafe's torment would never end, but they pulled one back before the interval through Daniel Parejo, and while Pedro Léon's strike ten minutes from the end lent the result some respectability, Madrid were not to be denied a tenth successive Liga win.

Atlético meet Madrid in Sunday's big capital derby at the Santiago Bernabéu, and while that might be a daunting prospect, the UEFA Europa League quarter-finalists limbered up positively, beating Athletic 2-0 at home thanks to a 54th-minute strike from Diego Forlán and a late effort from Sergio Agüero.