GONZALO Higuain and Rafael van der Vaart scored two apiece as Real Madrid tore apart struggling Real Zaragoza to win 6-0 in La Liga on Saturday.

Manuel Pellegrini’s second-placed side climbed to 37 points from 15 games, two short of leaders Barcelona, who were in Abu Dhabi winning the Club World Cup.

Zaragoza arrived at a freezing Bernabeu with caretaker Jose Aurelio Gay standing in after coach Marcelino was sacked last weekend but the league’s leakiest defence put up little resistance as they conceded four goals in the first half.

Argentine striker Higuain burst clear to score after three minutes and Dutchman Van der Vaart made it 3-0 with a quick fire double. In the 34th minute, Higuain claimed his second goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo got on the scoresheet in the 50th and Karim Benzema came off the bench to slot away their sixth goal in the 71st.