MADRID — Cristiano Ronaldo continued his scorching scoring run by pumping in four goals in Real Madrid’s hugely entertaining 6-3 La Liga win over Girona Sunday.

Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a deadly first-time finish but former Middlesbrough forward Cristhian Stuani headed home from a corner to draw the Catalans level in the 29th minute.

The Portuguese restored his side’s lead at the start of the second half by racing on to a through ball from Karim Benzema and hammering it in off the crossbar. He then laid on a pass for Lucas Vazquez to score Real’s third.

Ronaldo gobbled up a rebounded shot from Benzema to complete his hat trick in the 64th and make it 4-1, while substitute Gareth Bale added a fifth in the 86th after Stuani had struck again down the other end.

Girona’s Juanpe then made it 5-3, only for Ronaldo to roar back in injury time and score his fourth goal of the game, his 17th in his last eight appearances in all competitions.

Ronaldo has now netted 22 times in the league this season, trailing Barcelona’s Lionel Messi by just three goals.

“Cristiano is very important to us, he transmits an incredible amount of energy for the team,” Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane told reporters.

Ronaldo’s goal rush helped him to leapfrog Luis Suarez into second place on the Liga’s top scorer’s list, with the Barca forward missing his side’s 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao Sunday due to suspension.

Real is third in the Liga standings on 60 points, 15 behind runaway leader Barcelona and four adrift of second-placed Atletico, which was beaten 2-1 at Villarreal Sunday.

Depay helps Lyon win

Memphis Depay’s last-gasp winner clinched Lyon a thrilling 3-2 victory at Marseille Sunday that kept them firmly in the hunt for Champions League qualification.

Kostas Mitroglou looked to have snatched Marseille a vital point with an 84th-minute equalizer to make it 2-2, but Depay showed great bravery to nod home in the final minute of normal time.

Bruno Genesio’s Lyon is now just two points adrift of its opponents in the race for the third and final Champions League spot, after following a six-game winless run with back-to-back victories.

Marseille had forged ahead in the 31st minute through Portuguese defender Rolando, but Lyon leveled as Adil Rami put through his own net before Houssem Aouar scored early in the second period.

Both sides clashed after the final whistle, with fights also breaking out in the tunnel as Marseille frustrations boiled over.

Earlier Sunday, Dani Alves snatched champions elect Paris Saint-Germain a 2-1 victory at Nice.

PSG remains in total control of the title race, with reigning champion Monaco 17 points adrift in second place, with Marseille now seven points further behind.

Claudio Ranieri’s Nantes missed the chance to retake fifth spot from Rennes as it was held to a 1-1 draw at rock-bottom Metz, while Saint-Etienne moved into the top half of the table with a 2-0 win over Guingamp. — Agencies