Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and passed the landmark of 300 club goals as Real Madrid put a turbulent week behind it with a 4-0 win at home to Getafe in La Liga yesterday to close to within four points of second-placed Atletico Madrid.

The buildup to the game at the Bernabeu had been dominated by a report in Marca sports daily that said captains Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos had threatened to leave unless coach Jose Mourinho was dismissed. Real President Florentino Perez called a news conference to deny the story and accused the newspaper of lying and the Spanish champion let its football do the talking with a comfortable derby victory.

Mourinho, who turned 50 on Saturday, left several key players out of his starting lineup, including Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira, and Real struggled to break through Getafe in the first half.

Once Ramos had scrambled the ball into the net at a corner eight minutes after the break the home side turned the screw and Ronaldo struck three times in 10 minutes, the first his 300th club goal. The Portuguese scored five for Sporting Lisbon, 118 for Manchester United and now has 179 for Real thanks to his 20th career treble.

Real has 43 points, with Atletico on 47 ahead of its match at Athletic Bilbao later, when leader Barcelona (55) hosts Osasuna.