Ronaldo, who took his tally to 25 goals for the season with his hat-trick in Madrid`s 8-0 Copa del Rey win over Levante just before Christmas, opened the scoring from the penalty spot early on before Mesut Ozil doubled the advantage soon after.

Dani Parejo pulled a goal back for Getafe with a brilliant strike in the 29th minute but Ronaldo restored Madrid`s two-goal lead just before the hour-mark.

Madrid faced a nervy end to the match after first being reduced to 10 men when Alvaro Arbeloa picked up a second booking before then seeing Juan Albin pull another goal back for Getafe.

But Jose Mourinho`s men held on to make it 11 wins in their last 12 competitive matches, with the only setback being their 5-0 mauling at the hands of Barcelona.

More good news for Madrid came with the long-awaited return of Kaka, who made his first appearance of the season as a late substitute having overcome his injury.

Both sides came into the match in great form, with Getafe having won five on the trot and unbeaten in their last eight outings, but it was Madrid who were quickest out of the blocks.

It took the visitors just 10 minutes to get themselves in front after Angel Di Maria went crashing in the area following a challenge by Jose Manuel Mane.

Getafe protested vehemently against the decision but the delay did not distract Ronaldo, who gave Jordi Codina no chance to save with a thumping penalty.

Eight minutes after that it was 2-0, with Di Maria heavily involved again.

The Argentina international`s threaded through-ball was perfect for Ozil, who burst into the area, rounded Codina and rolled the ball in at the near post.

Madrid boasted a 4-0 lead after 37 minutes of last season`s encounter at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez and a similar scenario looked on the cards tonight following that impressive start.

However, Getafe got themselves back into the contest with a superb effort from former Madrid youngster Parejo, who picked the ball up 25 yards out, skipped in between Arbeloa and Lassana Diarra before slamming a rising shot past Iker Casillas at his near post.

That was just the confidence booster Getafe needed, but they were unable to make any further in-roads before the break and for most of the second half they found themselves on the back foot as Madrid dominated.

Karim Benzema fired one opportunity over before then turning provider to help Ronaldo made it 3-1 in the 57th minute, the Frenchman capitalising on a poor clearance from Codina to feed the ball into his team-mate, who slotted in a low shot.

Madrid should have made it 4-1 in the 65th minute following a three-on-one breakaway but Di Maria`s heavy touch gave Codina the chance to save, before Ronaldo tested the home custodian with a 25-yard effort.

Benzema was denied by the outside of the post soon after while Ozil only narrowly missed netting his second of the match with a curling effort that went just wide.

Madrid looked in complete control but the dismissal of Arbeloa, who was shown a second yellow card in the 82nd minute when a cross struck him on the hand, made for a tense finale for Mourinho`s men - especially when Albin reduced the deficit soon after.

Marcelo made a mess of clearing a cross form the left and Albin slammed the loose ball in from close range.

Getafe could not grab a late equaliser, though, as Madrid kept the pressure up on arch rivals Barca.