Bale and Ronaldo carve Sevilla open

Gareth Bale scored his second and third goals for Real Madrid CF but Cristiano Ronaldo upstaged him with a hat-trick as ten-man Sevilla FC were beaten 7-3 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday.

The Welsh international finished powerfully from Karim Benzema's cross on 13 minutes and got a second before the half-hour, though his free-kick was deflected on its way into the net. Ronaldo made it 3-0 from the penalty spot, but Ivan Rakitić responded in kind at the other end and Carlos Bacca's tap-in reduced the arrears to 3-2 by the interval.

Bale was back in the danger area after the break, teeing up both Benzema and Ronaldo to extend the hosts' advantage, yet Rakitić staked a claim for a share of the limelight with a terrific 63rd-minute finish for the Andalusians. However, Ronaldo took the match ball with the help of a touch off a Sevilla player before Stéphane Mbia's dismissal made the contest less even still. Benzema's 80th-minute header finally capped the scoring at 7-3.

Earlier, a Jonas penalty looked to have set Valencia CF on the path to three points against bottom club UD Almería, but second-half efforts from Marco Torsiglieri and Aleix Vidal at Mestalla secured the visitors' first victory of the season. UEFA Champions League contenders Real Sociedad de Fútbol also endured a frustrating night after a goal in each half from Antoine Griezmann put them 2-0 up at Real Valladolid CF. Daniel Larsson and Javi Guerra struck in the space of three minutes to earn a draw for the home side.