Madrid, Oct 23 (IANS): Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid won 4-0 away to Malaga to go atop the the Spanish football La Liga while Barcelona were held to a goalless draw by Sevilla.

The Portuguese international was back to his best as Real Madrid tore into a Malaga side that was looking forward to showing its potential after making a series of big money signings over the summer.

Gonzalo Higuain put Madrid ahead after just 10 minutes and Ronaldo completed his hat-rick before the break. He scored from close range following an Angel de Maria cross, fired home from the edge of the penalty area and then scored a clever flick from close range, Xinhua reported.

The win was enough to take Madrid to the top of the table after Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Sevilla.

Sevilla keeper Javi Varas was the hero of the night with a string of incredible saves, including an injury time penalty from Lionel Messi as Barcelona threw everything at a well organised Sevilla side, but were unable to score.

Saturday's other matches saw Sporting Gijon record their first win of the season as first half goals from David Barral and Andre Castro gave them a 2-0 win at home to Granada.

The win pushed Sporting off the bottom of the table. Racing Santander are now last following a 1-0 home defeat to Espanyol. Sergio Garcia's second half strike was enough to give Espanyol their second away win in a week, while Racing are yet to win a game this season.