Cristiano Ronaldo scored five as Real Madrid demolished Espanyol 6-0 at the Cornella El-Prat this afternoon.

The Portuguese hit a 13-minute hat-trick inside a rip-roaring first-half display, with Karim Benzema also on the scoresheet.

Ronaldo, criticised for his lack of goals as of late, then struck two more after the break to stun the hosts and make it back-to-back big wins for the Blancos, who beat Real Betis 5-0 last time out.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how the players fared in Catalunya.

Goal

Pau Lopez: Blameless for the goals and was a touch unlucky not to keep out the penalty after guessing correctly. (6/10)

Defence

Ruben Duarte: Was far too narrow at right-back, allowing Benzema and Bale to drift into that pocket of space from which three of Real's six goals came. Improved after the break. (5/10)

Alvaro Gonzalez: Conceded a needless penalty and lost the run of Ronaldo for his hat-trick goal. As questionable as Sergio's tactics were, the scoreline would not have been as emphatic had the defending been a little better. (3/10)

Anaitz Arbilla : Guilty of allowing Ronaldo a criminal amount of space in the area as he punished Espanyol time and again. (4/10)

Michael Ciani: Preferred to Raillo, Ciani blended into the defensive farce rather than put measures in place to stem the tide and he foolishly tried to play Bale offside in the lead up to the fifth. (4/10)

Midfield

Victor Sanchez: Did his best to positively change the scoreline with a number of excellent through balls but his strikers failed to make the most of their opportunities. (6/10)

Victor Alvarez: Spurned a number of promising chances by over hitting his crosses throughout. (4/10)

Salva Sevilla: Probably Espanyol's best player on the day and tested Navas on a number of occasions, but missed a glaring chance in the second half. (6/10)

Javi Lopez: Subbed off at half time, which should illustrate how effective he was. He was poor in possession and lazy in tracking back. (4/10)

Attack

Gerard Moreno: At 4-0 down, the game was more or less over but Moreno missed a chance to reduce the arrears by heading over the bar. Could, and definitely should, have scored. (4/10)

Felipe Caicedo: Should have scored inside three minutes in a miss that may have affected the course of the game had it gone in. (5/10)

Substitutes

Joan Jordan: Beaten far too easily by Vazquez in the build up to Real's sixth. (4/10)

Jose Canas: Came on for the second half but was guilty of venturing too far forward and forced into sloppy recovery challenges when Real inevitably broke. (5/10)

Goal

Keylor Navas: Kept out Caicedo's chance early on and produced more excellent stops to earn a record-breaking clean sheet. (7/10)

Defence

Dani Carvajal: Stood in for the injured Danilo and did not put a foot wrong, but could have contributed in the final third more when he got forward. (6/10)

Pepe: Pulled off a number of fine blocks and shackled Caicedo well after the South American went through early on. (7/10)

Sergio Ramos: Brave performance from Ramos, who put his head in the way of Moreno's fierce free kick in one example of his courage. (7/10)

Marcelo: Nowhere near as adventurous as he often is, but the Brazilian still pulled off plenty of well-timed challenges to thwart Espanyol throughout. (6/10)

Midfield

Casemiro: Preferred to Toni Kroos, the Brazilian midfielder left plenty of gaps and was a little too lacklustre in possession. (5/10)

Luca Modric: Subbed on 55 minutes but it was linked with preservation than frustration on Benitez's part, with the Champions League coming up next week. Tidy performance as usual from the Croat. (7/10)

Isco: Buzzed around plenty but was not quite as penetrative as he often is, but did very little wrong overall. (6/10)

Attack

Gareth Bale: Bagged three assists - including winning the penalty - but a goal never looked on the cards. Still an excellent all-round display. (8/10)

Cristiano Ronaldo: Answered his critics emphatically with five goals and an assist. Ruthlessly clinical and, despite not being as electric as he can be overall, it was still a complete performance from the Portuguese. (10/10)

Karim Benzema: Linked up brilliantly with Ronaldo and Bale throughout, and will not score many easier goals than the one he tapped home in the first half. (7/10)

Substitutes

Lucas Vazquez: Grabbed an assist by skipping past Jordan and generally looked a threat throughout his cameo. (7/10)

Mateo Kovaic: Replaced compatriot Modric but struggled to hold the same influence, and was booked for a poor challenge. (5/10)