SEVILLE, Spain — Man of the moment Marco Asensio scored twice and Cristiano Ronaldo was also on target as Real Madrid kept up the feel-good factor with a thrilling 5-3 victory at Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday night.

Madrid had been 2-1 down at half-time in a fantastic game at the Benito Villamarin, but they came roaring back in the second half with Sergio Ramos, Asensio — who had scored the opener — Ronaldo and Karim Benzema all finding the net.

They survived a late Betis onslaught, and after their 3-1 Champions League last 16, first-leg win against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, this victory confirms that Zinedine Zidane's side are looking better in La Liga now too.

They remain fourth, a huge 17 points behind leaders Barcelona. However, this was their fourth win in five league outings, and they are back to within a point of third-placed Valencia with a game in hand to come at Leganes in midweek.

"It was an end to end game, a bit crazy, but I like that. It shows that we had a proper opponent," said Zidane.

"Betis were fantastic and controlled the last half-hour of the first half. But I'm happy in the end, and I prefer to focus on the five goals we scored rather than the three we let in."

Asensio had come off the bench to set up the two late goals that allowed Real to beat PSG and he was rewarded with a start on Sunday in Seville, while Gareth Bale also came in as the likes of Benzema and Luka Modric dropped to the bench.

Asensio duly headed Madrid into an 11th-minute lead after Antonio Adan had saved a Ronaldo shot, but Betis had won when the sides last met at the Santiago Bernabeu and they hit back brilliantly.

Loren and Joaquin, the latter from a free-kick, both came close before Aissa Mandi headed in a Joaquin cross to make it 1-1 in the 33rd minute. It was 2-1 shortly after, as visiting defender Nacho could only help a Junior shot into his own net, and the home fans in the crowd of over 53,000 erupted.

Real also saw Marcelo limp off in the first half, a potentially worrying sign ahead of the PSG second leg, and Zidane confirmed the Brazilian would find out the extent of his injury on Monday. Madrid recovered superbly after the restart, though.

Ramos, whose Sevilla past always ensures a hot reception from the Betis fans, leveled with a bullet header from a Lucas Vazquez corner. Dani Carvajal then set up Asensio for his second and Real's third as the hour approached, and Ronaldo smashed in their fourth goal in the 65th minute.

The Portuguese, supposedly in decline, has now scored 10 times in six games between league and Champions League.

Betis may lack the consistency to properly contest a European place, but they do provide entertainment, and Cristian Tello set up fellow substitute Sergio Leon to make it 4-3 late on. Benzema, on from the bench, completed the scoring at the death with a goal that will boost his confidence.

Earlier, Kevin Gameiro came off the bench in the second half to score one goal and make another for Diego Costa as second-placed Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0.

It was another clinical performance from Diego Simeone's side, who have now recorded four consecutive league victories, all without conceding a goal.

They remain second, seven points behind unbeaten leaders Barcelona, who won 2-0 at Eibar on Saturday ahead of their Champions League trip to Chelsea.

Atletico, who have conceded a paltry nine goals in 24 La Liga games this season, will hope to stay within striking distance of Barcelona before going to the Camp Nou in a fortnight. Villarreal are sixth after a 1-1 draw at Espanyol, while Real Sociedad beat Levante 3-0.

Thauvin boosts Marseille as

Lyon lose more ground

Florian Thauvin extended his brilliant run of goalscoring form to earn Marseille a 1-0 win over a resurgent Bordeaux on Sunday and reinforce their push for Champions League Football next season.

Thauvin headed in a corner from Dimitri Payet on 35 minutes at the Velodrome to match last season's career-best return of 15 league goals and keep Marseille within a point of Monaco in second.

Rudi Garcia's team have lost just once in Ligue 1 dating back to September going into next Sunday's showdown at bitter rivals and runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain. OM will then meet PSG again at the Parc des Princes just three days later in the quarterfinals of the French Cup.

Defeat for Bordeaux ended a four-match winning streak and marked the first suffered under new coach Gustavo Poyet, who replaced the sacked Jocelyn Gourvennec last month.

Bertrand Traore struck twice but Lyon fell further behind their rivals for a Champions League berth after surrendering a two-goal lead a 2-2 draw at struggling Lille.

Burkina Faso forward Traore, who joined from Chelsea last July, hit a first-half double as Lyon looked on course for a welcome victory following three successive league defeats.

But goals after the break from Nicolas Pepe and Brazilian striker Luiz Araujo earned Christophe Galtier's side a point that left Lille just one place above the relegation zone.

Lyon looked the side most capable of troubling Paris Saint-Germain after beating the league leaders in January, but a subsequent rotten run of form has left them six points adrift of third-placed Marseille.

Nice captain Dante scored his first Ligue 1 goal for the club in a 1-1 draw with Claudio Ranieri's Nantes to snap a four-match losing run.

The result bumped Nantes back up to fifth, while Mario Balotelli's Nice — who lost 3-2 to Lokomotiv Moscow in the Europa League on Thursday — are ninth after halting their recent slide.

Nantes goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu had a busy and effective afternoon but Dante got a toe to a loose ball in a scramble to give last season's third-place finishers a fifth-minute lead at the Allianz Riviera.

The 34-year-old Dante joined Nice from Wolfsburg in 2016 and this was his first strike for them in 55 league games. The equalizer for Ranieri's visitors came courtesy of an Emiliano Sala penalty on 27 minutes as the Argentine striker netted his 11th goal of the campaign.

Atlantic coast outfit Nantes appointed Ranieri, who won the Premier League with Leicester, just ahead of the current campaign when Sergio Conceicao quit to join Porto.

PSG defeated Strasbourg 5-2 on Saturday to remain perfect at home this campaign, while second-placed Monaco thumped Dijon 4-0 on Friday. — AFP