Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals as Real Madrid thrashed Sevilla 6-2 to deny Barcelona a chance of clinching its third straight Spanish league title on Sunday.
Sergio Ramos, Ronaldo and Kaka all scored for Madrid in the first half on on Saturday, and Ronaldo answered Alvaro Negredo's goal for Sevilla with a second-half hat trick before Negredo added another one late on.
It was the second time Ronaldo has scored four goals this season after his haul against Racing Santander on Oct. 23. He now has a leading 33 goals this season, two more than Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.
Barcelona will instead look to restore its eight-point lead over Madrid when it hosts Espanyol in the Catalan capital derby.
"Even though of course the situation is very complicated, this was a game to show our pride," said Ramos. "I hope we can continue in this line and carry it over to next season."