Gareth Bale: 'Four-goal haul is perfect Christmas present'

Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has described his four-goal haul in Sunday's 10-2 hammering of Rayo Vallecano as "the perfect Christmas present".

Madrid took an early lead through Danilo at the Bernabeu, but found themselves behind less than 10 minutes later courtesy of a quickfire double from the visitors.

However, two Rayo red cards either side of a Bale equaliser left them in a precarious position, and Madrid made the most of their two-man numerical advantage to put the relegation candidates to the sword.

Bale was the star performer with four goals, while Karim Benzema also bagged a hat-trick and Cristiano Ronaldo weighed in with two.

10-2!! What a way to finish before the Christmas break ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/Ej7Fi0WOhY

— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) December 20, 2015

The perfect Christmas present ⚽️🎁 pic.twitter.com/aRDgD6vkqA

— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) December 20, 2015

Despite the result, Madrid remain third in La Liga, two points adrift of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid having played a game more.