'Phenomenal' Ronaldo scores five goals in Real's 9-1 rout of Granada

Real Madrid star forward Cristiano Ronaldo produced a stellar performance as he struck five times, including a first-half hat-trick, to help his side beat Granada 9-1 in a lopsided La Liga contest at the Bernabeu.

Ronaldo took his scoring prowess to yet another level on Sunday as he netted his fifth hat-trick of the league season, and levelled with arch-rival Lionel Messi of Barcelona at 24 in La Liga.

The gulf between the sides was exposed in a commanding first half by Real which ended with Gareth Bale and Ronaldo, who netted first three within eight minutes, scoring against the sloppy visitors.

The world player of the year's fourth came in the second half between two from Karim Benzema, the BBC reported.

Robert Ibanez tried to reduce the deficit with a 74th-minute goal, but the effort proved worthless due to Diego Mainz's own goal before the Portuguese superstar added his fifth late on.

With the win, Real are second in the La Liga table with 67 points, one points behind pace-setters Barcelona, who still have a game in hand.