Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid: Score and Reaction from 2016 La Liga Match

Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick saw Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday as Zinedine Zidane's side moved four points clear at the top of La Liga.

Save for a short spell at the start of the second half, Real dominated proceedings and eventually ran out easy winners against their local rivals.

A deflected free-kick from Ronaldo put Real 1-0 up in the first half. And after weathering an Atleti storm after the break, he netted from the penalty spot and then turned home a Gareth Bale cross to complete his treble.

Both clubs provided their lineups ahead of kick-off:

"

1️⃣1️⃣ This is @Simeone’s XI is for the #AtletiRealMadrid! #GoAtleti pic.twitter.com/4J98DnJKKG

— Atleti English (@atletienglish) November 19, 2016"

The best early chance fell to the hosts in the ninth minute as Saul shot wide after an excellent ball over the Real defence by Koke.

Two minutes later, Atleti goalkeeper Jan Oblak was forced into a brilliant save from a powerful Ronaldo header that looked destined for the back of the net.

Real began to take hold of the match, as they dominated in midfield, and Luka Modric forced Oblak into another save in the 20th minute.

The Slovenian stopper could do little to keep out the opener, though, in the 23rd minute.

Lucas Vazquez drew a foul from Stefan Savic 25 yards from goal, and Ronaldo's fierce free-kick strike deflected into the net, with Oblak wrong-footed, per ESPN's Dermot Corrigan:

It was an unfortunate goal to concede but arguably deserved for Real given the balance of play.

Ronaldo nearly doubled Real's lead after half an hour but could only shoot straight at Oblak, having left Diego Godin for dead in the box with a superb turn.

Real remained in the ascendancy until half-time but could not add to their narrow lead. 

Atleti came flying out the blocks after the break, with Yannick Carrasco curling a brilliant effort just wide when Vazquez gifted him the ball on the edge of the area in the 47th minute.

Antoine Griezmann then fizzed the ball across the Real goal, having been found in space following a terrific move, and soon after the Frenchman forced Keylor Navas into a save from long range.

As football writer Gabriele Marcotti noted, it was a completely different spectacle to the opening 45 minutes:

However, Real remained a threat on the break, and Atleti could not take advantage of their early dominance in the second half.

In the 71st minute, Savic fouled the onrushing Ronaldo in the box as he attempted to retrieve a ball over the top, and the Portuguese sent Oblak the wrong way from the spot.

Six minutes later, Ronaldo was on the scoresheet again as he finished off a classic counter-attack from Real.

Atleti forced to push forward, Bale was put through over the top of the hosts' advanced defence, drove forward from the half-way line and played the ball across the box for Ronaldo to turn home, via Sky Sports La Liga:

"

CLASSIC CRISTIANO: Ronaldo gets his hat-trick. Three and easy. 3-0. SS5. More here: https://t.co/akk4sStQut https://t.co/ODmgmUwGuB

— Sky Sports La Liga (@revistadelaliga) November 19, 2016"

As noted by Sky Sports Statto, it was far from his first career treble:

Real cruised to victory in the closing minutes, continuing to put together some slick football. Los Blancos are now the team to catch in La Liga. 

Post-Match Reaction

Atleti manager Diego Simeone was pithy in his assessment of a brutal defeat, per AS:

"

What hurts most about this defeat?

Simeone: Everything

— AS English (@English_AS) November 19, 2016"

Meanwhile, Zidane hailed his side's performance after the match but also moved to play down the significance of Real's current league position, per Corrigan: "I am happy with what we have done, as it is not easy, and few teams will win here 3-0...We have won nothing yet, and we know difficulties we will have from here until the end."