Through 16 games, Madrid has a three-point lead over Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Cristiano Nike soccer cleats Ronaldo scored his fifth hat trick of the season as Real Madrid won 6-2 at Sevilla to bounce back from last weekend’s loss to Barcelona and regain first place in the Spanish league.

Ronaldo put Madrid ahead off a perfectly weighted pass from Angel Di Maria in the 10th minute, made it 3-0 with a 25-yard shot in the 41st and converted a penalty kick in the 85th minute after Federico Fazio fouled Karim Benzema in the area. Jose Callejon (37th minute), Di Maria (66th), Hamit Altintop (89th) also scored for Madrid, which allowed goals by Jesus Navas (69th) and Alvaro Negredo (90th).

Ronaldo, heavily criticized for failing to score on a pair of open shots against Barcelona, leads the New nike soccer shoes league with 20 goals, three more than Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. With his 13th hat trick since joining Madrid in the 2009-10 season, Ronaldo increased his season total to 25 goals in all competitions.

“This is to shut the mouths of my critics,” Ronaldo said. “I am used to it, so it doesn’t matter. I am focused on my team and I don’t care what people say about me. … Those who criticize me don’t understand football.”

Through 16 games, Madrid has a three-point lead over Barcelona, the three-time defending league champion.

In other games it was Mallorca 1, Getafe 2; Sporting Gijon 1, Espanyol 2; and Athletic Bilbao 2, Zaragoza 1. After Sunday, the Nike mercurial soccer cleats league breaks until Jan. 7.