Real Madrid continued their impressive form with a 5-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu this evening.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in under three minutes, while Karim Benzema doubled his side's advantage before the break.
Bilbao struggled to deal with the attacking talents of Madrid, with Benzema adding a second and Ronaldo completing yet another hat-trick in the second half.
See how the game unfolded with Sports Mole's live coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text commentary of the La Liga meeting between Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. The two sides come into this game on the back of some contrasting results, with the visitors struggling both domestically and in Europe at the moment, while Los Blancos have hit a rich vein of form of late.
Kickoff at the Bernabeu is less than 30 minutes away, so let's take a look at how these two sides line up this evening...
TEAM NEWS!
REAL MADRID XI: Casillas, Marcelo, Carvajal. Pepe, Ramos, Kroos, James, Modric, Bale , Benzema, Ronaldo
ATHLETIC BILBAO XI: Iraizoz, De Marcos, Gupergui, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe, Mikel Rico, Benat, Muniain, Susaeta, Guillermo
The big news from a Madrid perspective is that Pepe returns to the heart of their defence in place of Raphael Varane. The Portugal international has been out with injury over the last few weeks, but he lines up alongside Sergio Ramos, Daniel Carvajal and Marcelo in defence for this one.
Iker Casillas also keeps his place in goal, while the Madrid front line is made up of arguably the finest attacking line-up on the planet in Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema.
The visitors come into this game on the back of a poor run of form, and in truth they have failed to get their season up and running so far, but Valverde has placed his faith in Iker Muniain who starts this evening, although key striker Aritz Aduriz misses out.
BENCH WATCH!
REAL MADRID SUBSTITUTES: Navas, Varane, Hernandez, Arebeloa, Nacho, Isco, Illarramendi
ATHLETIC BILBAO SUBSTITUTES: Herrerin, San Jose, Gomez, Iraola, Etxeita, Viguera, Lopez
The loss of Aduriz is a huge blow for the visitors, with his strike against BATE Borisov in midweek the only shining light in what was a truly poor showing. Varane has to make do with a place among the Los Blancos subs, while Javier Hernandez will be looking to add to his goal tally should he be called on later in the game.
I'm sure the Bilbao back line need little reminding of this particular stat...
Well Madrid come into this game having found some real form of late, scoring 20 goals in their last four games as Ronaldo, Bale, James and Benzema come together as one following a shaky start to the campaign. Defeat against city-rivals Atletico last month looked to be damaging for Carlo Ancelotti's side, but they have showed the character to bounce back in some style since then.
That's not to say they have been perfect. Eleven goals have gone it at the other end so far this season in the league, although the return of Pepe this evening may help to improve that statistic. That said, Bilbao have badly struggled to find the target this campaign, scoring just four times all term.
Les Leones' performance against BATE in the week was poor, and it was not a one off either. The Basque outfit were held to a goalless draw by rivals Eibar last time out in the league to make it no win in six now for Ernesto Valverde's charges. Their travelling supporters will certainly hope that something gives tonight, or they could be out of contention for another top-four finish before the turn of the year.
Kickoff at the Bernabeu is now a little over five minutes away, meaning that there's still some time to see what Sports Mole's On The Sofa team have predicted heading into this game.
PREDICTION: With all that in mind, combined with Bilbao's atrocious record at the home of Madrid in recent years, I'm going to back the hosts to secure a comfortable 3-0 victory this evening.
The two teams are now out onto the field, and kickoff is just a minute or so away. If this one goes to form then it could be extremely one sided, although Bilbao will no doubt be looking to get their season back on track following a poor recent run.
KICKOFF! Here we go then as Real Madrid, in their traditional all-white kit, get us underway at the Bernabeu.
Madrid get a cross into the box with just 30 seconds on the clock which Iraizoz manages to punch away. A daunting task for the Basque outfit as the hosts put the pressure on in the early stages.
GOAL! REAL MADRID 1-0 ATHLETIC BILBAO (RONALDO)
This could be a long night for the visiting side, as Ronaldo gives Real Madrid the lead with less than three minutes on the clock. Some good link-up play down the right saw Carvajal, Modric and Bale combine, before the latter swung in a delightful cross for Ronaldo to nod home at the back post.
That's now seven games in a row that Ronaldo has scored in, and his 12th goal against this particular opposition. The movement from the attacking players is frightening at times, as witnessed by that early goal.
Bilbao just knocking the ball around in defence and slowly out into the wide positions at the moment. You get the impression that Madrid are toying with them a little, allowing them to come forward before springing a devastating counter-attack.
SAVE! Iraizoz produces a fine save down low to keep out Ronaldo's strike from inside the box. The shot came through a couple of bodies, which made the Bilbao stopper's task even more difficult.
A great burst of pace down the right allows Bale to play a ball into the path of Benzema, but the striker failed to connect with the ball which was slightly behind him. The linesman flagged for offside, so it wouldn't have counted even if he had found a way through.
Carvajal almost picks out Bale as the Welshman charges into the box, but the ball was just about cut out. The two players have a very good understanding between them, although that particular move didn't quite come come off. Bilbao have steadied the ship in the last 10 minutes since conceding, yet Valverde's men will need to do more than they currently are if they are to get anything out of this one.
Susaeta is allowed to carry the ball quite some distance in the opposition half, although with time and space he fails to pick out one of his teammates out wide. It goes without saying that Bilbao need to make the most of any sort of possession in the final third this evening if they are to salvage a point or more.
Ronaldo celebrates his 11th league goal of the season...
CHANCE! Brilliant play from Madrid, as Ronaldo lofts a ball into the path of Bale who volleys a pass into the path of Benzema, but the striker fails to connect with the ball just a few yards from goal on the stretch. Very nearly a superb team goal.
Laporte lives dangerously at the back, losing possession to Benzema who nicks the ball away from him, but the referee points for a free kick in the Bilbao man's favour. A little harsh on the Frenchman who did well to win the ball back for his side.
The hosts come so close to getting a second yet again. Marcelo starts the attack from deep, lofting an inch-perfect pass into the path of James on the left who is in acres of space. The Colombian international switches the play to Ronaldo on the other flank who in turn picks out Benzema, but the striker can't find a way past Iraizoz. The flag was up on the far side once more, however.
SAVE! Casillas is forced into a rare save, tipping over Muniain's dipping effort from the edge of the box, which looked to be heading in off the underside of the bar, out of play. Promising piece of play from the visitors and Muniain in particular.
YELLOW CARD! Oscar de Marcos is shown the game's first yellow card, meaning that he now has to got 65 minutes without making a mistake down his flank.
Bilbao looked to be a little slow at clearing their lines as about five Madrid players were left unmarked as Pepe put a ball back into the mix. Ramos had his shot brilliantly blocked by Balenziaga, but yet again the flag was up on the far side.
YELLOW CARD! Sergio Ramos is the second player to be shown a yellow card inside the opening 30 minutes.
Kroos looks to play in Bale with a searching ball over the top, but his range is not quite right as Iraizoz scoops up. Madrid not looking as dangerous now as they were in the early stages, but it's difficult to see where a Bilbao goal is going to come from.
Ronaldo is the latest Los Blancos player to be caught offside. Bilbao holding a good, solid line, although that's no excuse for the Portuguese who drifted into an offside position.
YELLOW CARD! Balenziaga handles the ball to deny Bale charging in behind him to become the third player to receive a booking. The resulting free kick is swung in but five Madrid players are stood in an offside position. How many times has that happened already tonight?!
The visitors can be happy enough with their performance thus far, the first three minutes aside, but as I've already mentioned, it's hard to see where a goal is going to come from for them. Lacking ideas in the final third at the moment, which has been the case throughout this season so far.
Modric always seems to be in space, and he advances forward to help spark a Madrid attack which quickly filters out. It's been a somewhat disappointing 15 minutes or so for the Champions League holders, who have failed to get the better of Bilbao since that early headed goal.
SAVE! Iraizoz quick off his line to thwart Ronaldo who failed the dink the ball over the out-rushing keeper.
GOAL! REAL MADRID 2-0 ATHLETIC BILBAO (BENZEMA)
So disappointing for Bilbao who have done well from set-pieces tonight, but Benzema gets the better of the Lions' defenders to head home Madrid's second. The France international showed great commitment to get to the ball in fairness, heading down and subsequently beating Iraizoz with the effort.
Madrid can turn possession over so quickly, which is mainly down to the likes of Modric and Kroos in particular dropping deep and starting attacks from defence. It certainly helps when you have Bale and James on the two wings with energy in abundance.
HALF TIME: REAL MADRID 2-0 ATHLETIC BILBAO
The referee signals and end to the first half, leaving Athletic with a mountain to climb in the second half if they are to get anything out of this one.
It's all very comfortable for the home side at the moment...
It could have been so much worse for Ernesto Valverde's men at the break following what was a disastrous start. Ronaldo needed just 120 seconds to fire Madrid ahead with a back-post header, and for the first 10 minutes all the play was at one end.
Credit to Bilbao for thwarting Los Blancos' attacking talents, constantly catching the men in white shirts out with their high line. Benzema added a second before the break to all-but end the contest, though, leaving the visitors in a perilous position at the break.
MATCH STATS! Madrid fired away five shots in the first half, four of which tested Iraizoz in the Bilbao goal. Athletic managed to get three shots away of their own which highlights the fact that it was by no means all Madrid's way, yet with just short of 60% of possession Real were certainly comfortable enough.
It will be interesting to see how Bilbao begin this second half; will they look to get at their opponents and pull a goal back, or instead sit off Madrid and look to occasionally spring attacks on the break? Remember, Los Blancos squandered a two-goal lead against Real Sociedad at the start of the season, so it is by no means all over yet.
SECOND HALF! Bilbao get the game back underway, and there's news of two half-time changes to bring you. Varane is introduced in place of Ramos at the heart of Madrid's defence, while Ibai Gomez will provide some fresh legs in attack for the visitors in place of Benat.
Marcelo had to be alert to deny Susaeta being played in in behind the Madrid back line. He took no risks by heading behind for a corner, which ultimately came to nothing. Positive start from the away side nonetheless.
CHANCE! Gomez wins his side a second corner of this second half, although it is once more cleared away. At the other end Bale was favourite to get to Rinaldo's pass into the box, but the Welshman was put under pressure and failed to keep his shot down. Ronaldo's pass just lacked the weight that was needed, otherwise you'd have fancied the Welshman to have scored from there.
Another truly incredible Cristiano Ronaldo statistic...
Bale just playing in a central position for the time being, while Ronaldo is the most advanced player with Benzema slightly behind him. Ancelotti using this second half to experiment with different tactical options?
Bale drifts back out into a wide area, but his drilled cross into the box has just too much on it for Benzema to latch onto.
GOAL! REAL MADRID 3-0 ATHLETIC BILBAO (RONALDO)
As easy as you like from Ronaldo who taps in from just a couple of yards out. Bale again the creator, bursting down the left and laying a pass across goal for his teammate to add his 189th goal for Los Blancos.
SHOT! Bale comes close to adding a goal of his own, latching onto James' delicious back-hell on the edge of the box, but failing to place the ball beyond Iraizoz.
SAVE! Bilbao remind Madrid that they are still around, with Casillas sprawling across to keep out Muniain's back-post header. That was a difficult save to make, and the crowd acknowledged it by chanting the stopper's name.
SAVE! Ronaldo and Bale link up once more, but this time it is roles reversed. Ronaldo edges into the box from his starting position on the right, picking out the Welshman on the edge of the box to fire a strike towards goal which Iraizoz does well to palm away.
It's very much all Madrid now, and Bilbao are starting to look tired. There's more goals in this game, but I can only see them going one way.
BILBAO SUB: Youngster Unai Lopez enters the fray in place of Susaeta with a little under 30 minutes of normal time remaining.
He may not get the same type of plaudits as Ronaldo, but make no mistake about it, Bale is a key player for Madrid right now...
GOAL RULED OUT! Marcelo lofts a ball into the back-post area where Ronaldo and Bale are waiting. The latter makes no mistake to head the ball home, but the linesman already had his flag up. Shame, because the former Tottenham Hotspur man deserves a goal tonight.
GOAL! REAL MADRID 4-0 ATHLETIC BILBAO (BENZEMA)
Benzema adds his second of the night, tapping into an empty net following an unselfish pass across goal from Ronaldo. Modric played the Portuguese in, but instead of striking for goal, he opted to pass to Benzema five yards out to make it 4-0. Another well-worked team goal.
SAVE! Almost a calamitous moment from Iraizoz who fails to keep hold of Modric's drilled strike, but he latches onto the loose ball to deny Ronaldo who was closing in. Madrid want goal number five... and six... seven.
SAVE! The hosts will also be keen to keep hold of a clean sheet this evening having conceded a fair few goals so far this season. But right now the ball is constantly at the other end of the field, as Ronaldo gets another strike in at goal which Iraizoz manages to handle down low.
DOUBLE SUB: Both sides opt to make a change with 15 minutes remaining; Kroos is the man to go off for Madrid in place of Illarramendi, while Etxeita replaces Muniain for the away side.
And yet another brilliant Ronaldo statistic...
SAVE! Great save from Iraizoz, and if not for him Madrid could have scored double what they have right now. Ronaldo leapt to head the ball towards the bottom corner, but the keeper got across to his left to push it away.
CHANCE! Bilbao almost find a consolation goal. A scramble inside the Madrid area following a cross into the box is not initially dealt with, but Cassilas manages to latch onto the loose ball to thwart the danger.
MADRID SUB: Benzema will not get the opportunity to add to his brace, leaving the field in place of Isco as we enter the final 10 minutes at the Bernabeu.
SAVE! Another fantastic stop from Iraizoz who this time keeps out Bale's strike. The Welshman looked destined to add a fifth from a tight angle, but once more was level to it. Moments later Ronaldo came within inches of completing his hat-trick, although his strike was a yard or so wide in the end.
James goes down in the box under the challenge of Gurpegui although the referee waved play on. In fairness, there wasn't too much of an appeal from the Colombian. Bale managed to fire in another shot seconds later, which Iraizoz again did well to handle.
They're queueing up in the Bilbao area right now to score. In fact, the Madrid players are getting in each other's way. Ronaldo and Isco go for the same ball, and in the end neither can get hold of it as another attack dies out.
A blossoming partnership between the world's two most expensive players...
GOAL! REAL MADRID 5-0 ATHLETIC BILBAO (RONALDO)
Ronaldo bags himself yet another hat-trick, which makes it three trebles now this season in the league. Incredible. He won't score many luckier goals than this, though, with Pepe's strike inside the box hitting the forward's elbow which deflected the ball past Iraizoz.
Can Madrid find a sixth goal? They have another minute to find one, and on this form I wouldn't put it past them...
FULL TIME: REAL MADRID 5-0 ATHLETIC BILBAO
The referee puts Athletic Bilbao out of their misery, as Real Madrid settle for just the five goals. The heavy win lifts Los Blancos into the top four, while Ernesto Valverde's men remain off the bottom of the table on goal difference alone.
Well that's all from me for now, but stick around on Sports Mole as we bring you player ratings and analysis, as well as all the reaction from this goal-laden night in the Spanish capital.
