Real Madrid put pressure on La Liga leaders Barcelona as they earned a comfortable win against Eibar at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The team with the lowest budget of the competition barely threatened Keylor Navas and never stood a chance of savaging a point.
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Chicharito Hernandez gave Los Blancos a reassuring lead in the first half and allowed Carlo Ancelotti to rest key players after the break. Jese Rodriguez sealed the win in the second half.
Los Merengues dominated from the start and Ronaldo opened the score after 21 minutes. The Portuguese sent a powerful free kick from 25 metres and goalkeeper Xabi Irureta failed to block the ball.
Ten minutes later Alvaro Arbeloa sent a precise cross into the box and Chicharito sent the ball into the bottom corner with a superb finish. The Mexico international had returned to the starting eleven in order to give Karim Benzema some rest.
Eibar had not shot on target a single time and Ancelotti was so confident that he decided to send Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Luka Modric to the bench at the start of the second half to give them some rest ahead of the Champions League clash against Atletico de Madrid.
There weren’t many chances in the second half, as both teams seemed pleased with the score. Yet, Jese proved his worth with a brilliant play, dribbling past two defenders and curling one into the bottom corner to seal the win.
Should Barcelona drop points in their tricky visit to Sevilla, Los Blancos would shorten their four-point deficit.
