Cristiano Ronaldo scored his league-leading 19th and 20th goals of the season on Monday to seal Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Celta Vigo, keeping his team in touch with the top of the Spanish standings.

Ronaldo moved one goal ahead of Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa as the competition's top scorer by finding the net in the 82nd minute and again in stoppage time from a cross by substitute Gareth Bale on his return from a three-week injury layoff.

Celta's attack, led by midfielder Rafina Alcantara, created the clearest chances of the match until Benzema broke through from close range in the 67th with his ninth goal in league play this season.

"They have some of the best players in the world, and they punish you if you give them half a chance," Rafina said.

Madrid's win after the league's two-week winter break left it five points behind Barcelona and Atletico, who play each other in the next round in the Spanish capital.

The Santiago Bernabeu held a minute of silence before kickoff in honor of Portuguese football star Eusebio, who died on Sunday. His countryman Ronaldo turned his gaze upward while locked in arms with his teammates. Hours before in Lisbon, tens of thousands of people turned out to pay tribute to Eusebio.

Celta, coached by former Madrid and Barcelona player Luis Enrique, played the hosts to a standstill in the first half while enjoying the best scoring opportunities.

Striker Charles had a great look six minutes in but failed to beat goalkeeper Diego Lopez one-on-one, and Rafina, younger brother of Bayern Munich's Thiago, had a shot that looked goal-bound when it deflected off a defender in the 37th.

Bale had been warming up on the touchline since the half-hour mark, and coach Carlo Ancelotti sent him on in the 65th.

Charles wasted Rafina's through ball moments later by sending his chip shot well wide, and soon the game swung in the hosts' favor when Benzema fended off his marker and redirected Jese Rodriguez's short pass into the net.

With Celta still threatening to equalize, Ronaldo charged forward to meet Dani Carvajal's cross and sweep it home.

Ronaldo struck again in added time, banging in a cross from Bale to complete his brace a week before FIFA announces the Ballon d'Or winner. Ronaldo is a finalist along with Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery of Bayern.

The undeservedly lopsided defeat left Celta on the brink of the relegation zone.

Later, Villarreal visits Rayo Vallecano.