Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo's hat trick in a 4-1 win over Mallorca on Wednesday kept Real Madrid within a point of leader Barcelona with two rounds left in the Spanish league.
Ronaldo has now scored 32 goals in all competitions, 25 in the league and seven in the Champions League.
"As I said last week, we're going to win (the title)," Ronaldo said. "I'm really keen, especially as this is my first year in Madrid."
Barcelona leads the standings with 93 points. Valencia has also claimed a Champions League berth, sitting third with 68 points, eight more than Sevilla and one in front of Mallorca.
Also Wednesday, it was: Racing Santander 1, Sevilla 5; Atletico Madrid 3, Valladolid 1; Zaragoza 1, Espanyol 0; Osasuna 3, Deportivo La Coruna 1 and Athletic Bilbao 1, Malaga 1.
Madrid had to come from behind to beat Mallorca, with Aritz Aduriz scoring from the edge of the box in the 16th minute to reward to sustained pressure on goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
Ronaldo equalized 10 minutes later, skilfully redirecting Sergio Ramos' 40-meter pass over goalkeeper Dudu Aouate and into the goal.
Casillas was then forced to make two athletic saves in 15 minutes when Madrid conceded three corners.
However, Ronaldo controlled another long pass from Ramos with his chest inside the penalty area and slotted the ball into the net in the 57th minute.
Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini substituted Kaka with Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez two minutes later.
Ronaldo beat defenders Jose Miguel Gonzalez and then Carlos Nunes to collect his third goal in the 72nd minute.
Leading Madrid scorer Gonzalo Higuain hit his 26th goal of the season when he lobbed Aouate in the 82nd minute.
Alvaro Negredo scored the first and last goal as Sevilla thrashed Santander 5-1.
He hit the net in the second minute, beating Anders Palop after the goalkeeper had stopped Jesus Navas' hard shot. Negredo finished the scoring in the 89th minute, sending a powerful left-footed volley home for his 11th goal of the season.
Jesus Navas, Diego Capel and Frederic Kanoute also scored for Sevilla, while Mohamed Tchite pulled one back for Santander.
Kanoute made it 2-0 in the 21st minute from the penalty spot after Santander defender Nasief Morris had tripped Capel. Navas made it 3-0 with a header at the far post from a cross by Capel on the left wing in the 46th minute.
A minute later, Capel beat the offside trap and Palop. Tchite narrowed the gap in the 61st before Morris was sent off for a second yellow card following a late tackle from behind on Capel in the 78th minute.
Atletico's Juan Gutierrez rifled in Jose Jurado's cross in the 43rd minute, and Jurado added a second in the 66th. Teamate Diego Forlan scored his 18th goal of the season in the 73rd minute. Jonathan Sesma pulled one back for Valladolid in the 78th.
Osasuna's Adrian Colunga converted a penalty in the 78th after Espanyol lost Nicolas Pareja to a second yellow card.
Deportivo goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia parried a powerful shot from Carlos Aranda, only to see Javier Camunas pounce on the clearance to score in the 11th minute.
Ivan Sanchez-Rico put Deportivo 2-1 up four minutes later, but Walter Pandiani's header in the 24th leveled again for Osasuna.
Juan Francisco Torres scored Osasuna's third from a cross by forward Carlos Aranda in the 32nd minute.
Athletic's Gaizka Toquero scored in the fifth minute, but Malaga's Duda equalized from a corner with his seventh goal of the season in the 19th.
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