Captain Marvel Raul scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid defeated Sevilla 4-2 last night to cut Barcelona's advantage at the top to four points ahead of next Saturday's 'El Clasico' at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Barcelona had dropped two points in a 2-2 draw at Valencia on Saturday and Real capitalised as Raul gave coach Juande Ramos a win on his first return to old club Sevilla.

"It was crucial that we won this match," admitted Ramos. "We have been winning lots of games but not getting any closer and sometimes it seems like hard work.

"Now we have closed to within four points and have home advantage against Barcelona next Saturday."

"It was pivotal to score just before the break," explained Ramos. "We took more risks in the second half because nothing less than a victory was good enough."