The home side took the lead on 17 minutes after midfielder Renato lost his marker to head a Diego Perotti cross past Iker Casillas.

Spanish veteran Raul notched an equalizer on the stroke of halftime when he diverted home a low cross from Christoph Metzelder.

He then hit a double shortly after the hour to fire Los Merengues ahead and complete his treble.

On 63 minutes, he connected with a deflected cross to score the second, and struck again three minutes later with a remarkable follow-up effort.

Sevilla substitute Diego Capel reduced the arrears for the hosts ten minutes from time when he outclassed Sergio Ramos to head Jesus Navas' cross into the net.

Marcelo ensured Real's superiority with a fourth goal in stoppage time.

The defending champions, who are now in second place on 78 points, could have won by a larger margin, as Gonzalo Higuain wasted two close chances in the first half when third-placed Sevilla were trying to maintain their slender lead.

Real will face their arch-rivals Barcelona next weekend in a crucial game that will either ignite the two-horse race or ensure the Catalans' title credentials.