Ronaldo: Depor goal woke Real up

The worst thing Deportivo could have done against Real Madrid was score early in their La Liga clash on Sunday.

The visitors silenced the Bernabeu crowd with a goal from Riki on 15 minutes, but that, as hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted, only served to wake the sleeping Real Madrid giant from its slumber.

It took Real just seven minutes to restore parity when Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot and they were cruising by half-time as Angel Di Maria and Ronaldo again netted for the home side.

Pepe headed in the fourth 25 minutes from time leaving Ronaldo to complete his hat-trick with another penalty to seal the 5-1 win.

"We started the match a little bit uninterested, but after the Deportivo goal we woke up and we made a good comeback," Ronaldo said on the club's website.

"It was important to keep going each time to score more goals. The team is good and we know we cannot lose any more points. We have managed an important victory."

The victory allowed Real to reduce the gap at the top of La Liga to eight points ahead of next week's El Clasico.

"We know it will be a very difficult and complicated [match with Barcelona]," Ronaldo said.

"We have to stay focused and confident that we will play a good match."

Madrid rivals Atletico sit in second place after a 1-0 victory over rock-bottom Espanyol on Sunday.