Cristiano Ronaldo netted another brace to give Real Madrid a relatively easy win over Athletic Bilbao at San Mames on Sunday evening.

Whilst the league is now out of reach for Madrid, they still remain in the Champions League and boss Jose Mourinho is now using the domestic games to get his team in tip-top shape for the two-legged semi-final encounter with Borussia Dortmund.

The visitors took the lead within just two minutes as Cristiano Ronaldo lined up a free-kick and fired in an unstoppable effort past Gorka Iraizoz.

The San Mames was stunned and find it hard to find their rhythm, however Markel Susaeta had a great chance to put his side on level terms midway through the first half but he was denied by Madrid keeper Diego Lopez.

Angel di Maria nearly added to his side’s lead just before half-time but the result stayed at just 1-0 to Madrid heading into the interval.

20 minutes after the break and Ronaldo would be celebrating again after he met a superb Xabi Alonso cross to head past the hopeless Iraizoz.

Gonzalo Higuain then entered the field, replacing Karim Benzema and the Argentine striker staked his claim for a place in the starting eleven with a superb effort that went in the bottom left hand corner.

With the game firmly over, both sides played out the remaining 10 minutes in a slow and laboured fashion with neither side creating any clear-cut chances.

The win for Madrid sees them win second spot back from Atletico Madrid, whilst Athletic will still be peering over their shoulder as they sit in 14th, just seven points off the relegation places.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 49th and 50th goals in all competitions this season as Real Madrid won 3-0 tonight. Ronaldo has now scored 31 league goals sa far this season.