RONALDO OUT OF RACING CLASH

Cristiano Ronaldo may be watching his team-mates from the sidelines on Sunday, with an injury forcing him off the field with 10 minutes to go last night.

Ronaldo had already scored twice (once from the spot), when a brilliant throughball from Canales fell into his path. Somewhere between dribbling it towards goal and firing it home for his hatrick, Ronaldo managed to pull a muscle.

As Real had already used up all their subs, when Ronaldo left the pitch immediatley after the celebrations, Real were left with just 10 men (but already 7-0 up!).

Ronaldo told the TV cameras "I injured my left leg when I used it for support as I scored my third goal, but I'm sure it's nothing serious and that I'll be able to play the next game. We were clearly winning when it happened, so I decided it was best not to push it."

After the match, coach Jose Mourinho revealed his apprehension that the injury to Ronaldo could be serious, saying "I don't know. It seems like a serious injury, that's the negative note from the game. Especially as Ronaldo doesn't just do small things."

Ronaldo was happy with the performance "We played very well. We earned a great result. We wanted to take three points regardless of how Malaga played. We must continue to win and we know we cannot afford to drop a single point. We have to be in optimum form in order to respond when needed."