Ronaldo converted a controversial first-half penalty which led to the Celta players surrounding the referee
The Portugal skipper doubled Madrid's lead with a superb 15-yard volley
Then, he took outright control of La Liga's hat-trick record in the final 10 minutes
Cristiano Ronaldo set two personal milestones as he led Real Madrid
to a record-equalling 18th-straight win on a historic night at the
Bernabeu.
The Portugal forward has now scored more hat-tricks
than any other La Liga player after completing his 23rd treble with his
200th Spanish top-flight goal.
He put Madrid ahead by drilling in a disputed penalty, after he had been fouled under seemingly minimal contact.
And his clinical volley and guided finish moved Real four points clear.
Ronaldo, who is the favourite to win the 2014 Ballon d'Or for his performances this year, was given a standing ovation as he was substituted towards the end of another memorable performance.
The 29-year-old had scored the same amount of hat-tricks as legendary Madrid forward Alfredo Di Stefano and Telmo Zarra of Athletic Bilbao, and eclipsed their tallies when he steered in Marcelo's cross.
And it also meant he reached his second century of La Liga goals in his 178th match for Real.
Ronaldo illuminated the Bernabeu in the final stages of what had been a largely uninspiring performance from Carlo Ancelotti's side against mid-table Celta.
Celta shaded possession against their illustrious rivals, but failed to have a meaningful shot on target at Iker Casillas' goal.
And Ronaldo took advantage to fire Madrid to their 18th successive victory in all competitions - matching the Spanish record set by Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona between October 2005 and January 2006.
Meanwhile, defending champions Atletico Madrid moved up to second after a 2-0 win at Elche earlier on Saturday, although Barcelona can overtake - and reduce the gap on Real back to two points when they host Espanyol on Sunday.
Lineup, Bookings (8) & Substitutions (6)
Real Madrid
- 01 Casillas
- 15 Carvajal Booked
- 03 Pepe
- 04 Ramos Booked
- 12 Marcelo
- 11 Bale
- 24 Illarramendi
- 08 Kroos
- 10 Rodríguez Booked (Arbeloa - 53' Booked )
- 09 Benzema (Fábio Coentrão - 80' )
- 07 Ronaldo (Hernández - 85' )
Substitutes
- 02 Varane
- 05 Fábio Coentrão
- 13 Navas
- 14 Hernández
- 17 Arbeloa
- 18 Nacho
- 26 Medrán
Celta de Vigo
- 01 Álvarez Conde
- 02 Mallo Novegil
- 22 Cabral Booked (Gómez Sola - 74' )
- 03 Fontás
- 19 Castro Otto Booked
- 23 Krohn-Dehli (Mina Lorenzo - 82' )
- 05 Hernández Booked
- 06 Radoja
- 14 Orellana (Fernández - 70' )
- 11 Larrivey
- 10 Agudo Durán Booked
Substitutes
- 07 Mina Lorenzo
- 08 López Sánchez
- 09 Dias de Oliveira
- 13 Blanco
- 20 Gómez Sola
- 21 Planas
- 24 Fernández
Ref: Alberto Undiano Mallenco
Att: 80,300
Live Text Commentary
Full time
Full Time Match ends, Real Madrid 3, Celta de Vigo 0.
90:00 +3:00 Full time
Full Time Second Half ends, Real Madrid 3, Celta de Vigo 0.
90:00 +1:32 Nemanja Radoja (Celta de Vigo) wins a free kick on the right wing. 90:00 +1:32 Foul by Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid).
90:00 +1:01 Attempt blocked. Nolito (Celta de Vigo) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
89:58 Nolito (Celta de Vigo) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
89:58 Foul by Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
89:15 Attempt missed. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Gareth Bale.
88:31 Foul by Joaquín Larrivey (Celta de Vigo).
88:31 Asier Illarramendi (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
87:33 Joaquín Larrivey (Celta de Vigo) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
87:33 Foul by Asier Illarramendi (Real Madrid).
87:00 Dangerous play by Joaquín Larrivey (Celta de Vigo).
87:00 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
86:55 Attempt blocked. Santi Mina (Celta de Vigo) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
86:14 Booking
Booking Asier Illarramendi (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
86:06 Pablo Hernández (Celta de Vigo) wins a free kick on the right wing. 86:06 Foul by Asier Illarramendi (Real Madrid).
84:48 Substitution
Substitution Substitution, Real Madrid. Javier Hernández replaces Cristiano Ronaldo because of an injury.
83:31 Attempt blocked. Augusto Fernández (Celta de Vigo) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked