Zinedine Zidane: 'Cristiano Ronaldo is a team player'

Zinedine Zidane has described Cristiano Ronaldo as "a team player" after the Real Madrid forward passed up the chance to score a hat-trick in the 4-0 win against Alaves.

The 33-year-old was already on a brace for the afternoon when he handed penalty duties over to Karim Benzema for the last of his side's four goals at the Bernabeu.

Gareth Bale was also on target, meaning that Madrid's famed 'BBC' forward trio all scored in the same match for the first time this season.

Zidane believes that his side's display bodes well for the future, telling reporters at full time: "I'm happy for Cristiano's nice gesture with Karim. This shows he is a team player. Karim deserved this, to score a goal, as he had played a very good game.

"The BBC were always there. They played a very good game, also Lucas Vazquez, the four upfront all played very well. I am happy for the four.

"We will see [if Bale stays on the left]. I wanted to see Gareth in this position, then we will see in the following games. But at the moment we have more of the consistency that we want in our play, our focus. And that comes with recovering confidence, which is fundamental for a player."

Real are now within four points of Atletico Madrid in second, having played a game more than their city rivals.