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Real Madrid made mincemeat of relegation-battling Deportivo de La Coruna in a 7-1 hammering at home as the beleaguered champions played to the gallery.
Adrian Lopez put the minnows ahead early on against the run of play to stun the Bernabeu, but it only spurred the Blancos on as they hit back twice before the break through Nacho and Gareth Bale.
Post the interval, it was a one-way filibuster as Madrid knocked 5 more that also witnessed Ronaldo striking twice to get back on the scoresheet for the first time in 2018.
Madrid produced, perhaps, their best performance of the season to cut their manager Zinedine Zidane some slack.
On that note, here's a look at how each player performed on the night:
Deportivo La Coruna
Ruben Martinez - 6/10
The Deportivo shot-stopper had an evening to forget as Madrid collectively devoured the poor Spaniard with a barrage of goals. However, there was an instance or two where he did well to keep the hosts out, thereby preventing the score from hitting double figures.
Juanfran - 4/10
Marcelo ran rings around the Deportivo full-back, who endured a nightmarish outing down the right and was nullified without much fuss.
Fabian Schar - 5/10
The robustness of the initial exchanges completely vanished as time wore on and the Swiss international could only watch Madrid run riot.
Steve One - 4/10
In no man's land as the hosts whizzed down the box in the second-half. One had absolutely no say at the heart of the defence today.
Luisinho - 5/10
Tried a couple of facile crosses which still wasn't enough to paper over a terrible game as Luisinho was totally negated.
Celso Borges - 4.5/10
The Costa Rican was bullied by the likes of Luka Modric and Casemiro, preventing him from having any influence of note. A few decent crosses proved to be the only saving grace.
Guilherme - 5/10
A sitting duck as Madrid restored dominion, Guillermo was easily rolled over by the Madrid midfield in a show of enervation by him.
Pedro Mosquera - 6/10
Sparked in bits and parts even though the outcome was hardly resounding. Skilfully dispossessed Varane in the midfield to try and instigate an attack.
Lucas Perez - 6.5/10
The Arsenal loanee created the opener for Adrian with a perfect assist, but missed a few chances himself later.
Florin Andone - 6.5/10
Andone tested the Madrid defence on a few occasions with some dangerous efforts at goal, and also picked out Perez in the build-up to the opener.
Adrian Lopez - 6.5/10
Made no mistake in dispatching the opener as he connected with the ball just well enough to nudge it home, although the former Atletico Madrid man disappeared after the break.
Substitutes:
Eduardo Exposito - 4.5/10
Replaced Mosquera early after the break, but to no effect as Exposito was completely buried by a rampaging Madrid.
Emre Colak - 5/10
Another emergency substitution by the visitors, the Turkish brought hardly anything to combat the home side's domineering surge.
Carles Gil - 5/10
Replaced Andone with 10 minutes remaining, but Gil hardly had anything to do thereafter, with Deportivo still on the backfoot.
Real Madrid
Keylor Navas - 8/10
Made some excellent saves when Deportivo refused to give up despite the onslaught, though he failed to keep a clean sheet yet again, as the Costa Rican was rendered helpless for Adrian's opener.
Dani Carvajal - 7/10
One of the lesser shining lights on an otherwise bright afternoon, Carvajal did his best to contribute on his way forward although nothing productive could be conjured. He was also easily outmanoeuvred in the build-up to Deportivo's opener.
Raphael Varane - 7.5/10
Was a bulwark after the first goal to put in a good shift at the back, and the Frenchman also laid an amazing looping cross for Nacho for Madrid's seventh goal of the night.
Nacho - 9/10
His defensive lapse early on was emphatically overshadowed in an act of redemption that saw him bag two goals and also make some vital interception and clearances. This was Nacho's best outing this season by a mile.
Marcelo - 8.5/10
The indefatigable full-back was a live wire, foraging ahead tirelessly to lay crosses into the box as Deportivo were thrown in a tizzy. The Brazilian also bagged two assists to engineer the comeback.
Luka Modric - 8.5/10
Clinically regained control in the midfield as the Croat was also instrumental in instigating many a counter. Capped off an amazing outing with an equally amazing goal.
Toni Kroos - 8/10
The German was relatively quiet on the night, but Kroos made his presence felt with some incisive passes while also connecting brilliantly with Gareth Bale through a corner for their third goal.
Casemiro - 8/10
The Brazilian went on to redeem himself by an extent with an active participation in the proceedings before making a fine assist for Ronaldo's second.
Gareth Bale - 9/10
The Welshman was back with a bang, netting twice and bringing potency back into the team. Was cruelly denied a hat-trick by Ronaldo's ill-positioning, and was taken off 8 minutes from time to a standing ovation.
Borja Mayoral - 6/10
The weak link in an otherwise blistering attacking unit, Mayoral was an outlier in his position as the no.9 and was rightfully taken off for Benzema just after the hour mark.
Cristiano Ronaldo - 8.5/10
He tried, tried and then tried again, before successfully breaking through the glass ceiling. Bagged two goals after straining every sinew to either hit the ball home, or win a penalty, and he had to be taken off in the final few minutes with a bleeding face.
Substitutes:
Karim Benzema - 7/10
Had almost half an hour at his mercy, but the Frenchman's poor run continued with another subdued showing.
Mateo Kovacic - 7/10
Subbing him on for a lively Modric in the 76th minute raised a few eyebrows, while his performance in the final 15 minutes did little to relax the pensive mood.
Lucas Vazquez - 8/10
Took just two minutes to make an impact after coming on, as he assisted Ronaldo's second goal and didn't let the attacking flair diminish right till the end.
