Real Madrid Slips Into First With a Hat Trick by Ronaldo


Barcelona was held to a scoreless tie by visiting Sevilla on Saturday, letting Real Madrid take the overnight lead in the Spanish league when Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals in 15 first-half minutes in a 4-0 rout at Malaga. 
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Barcelona looked set to snatch a victory in injury time when Andrés Iniesta was fouled in the penalty area, but Sevilla goalkeeper Javi Varas stopped Lionel Messi’s penalty kick. 
Real Madrid had no such problems at big-spending Malaga, as Ángel Di María assisted on goals by Gonzalo Higuaín and Ronaldo, before Ronaldo added two more to decide the game before halftime. 
The win put Madrid one point ahead of Barcelona atop the standings and two points ahead of Levante, which travels to Villarreal on Sunday in search of its sixth straight victory. 
NEWCASTLE STAYS UNBEATEN Newcastle extended its unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a 1-0 victory against Wigan, but Liverpool was given a reality check as newly promoted Norwich rallied for a 1-1 tie at Anfield. 
Fifth-place Liverpool is already 4 points behind fourth-place Newcastle, which is unbeaten through nine games. 
Yohan Cabaye curled the ball into the net in the 81st minute for Newcastle, sending Wigan to the bottom of the standings with a sixth straight loss. Bolton is also in the relegation zone after a 2-0 loss at home to Sunderland, but Wolverhampton fought back with two goals in the final 10 minutes to salvage a 2-2 tie with visiting Swansea. 
N.F.L. MEETS WITH F.A. N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell advised English soccer officials on the benefits of adopting a version of the so-called Rooney Rule, which is designed to create more opportunities for black and minority coaches. 
The Football Association and the League Managers’ Association have spent several months exploring the possibility of emulating the rule, which requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate when filling head coach and general manager positions. 
The Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, who pushed for the rule that was named after him, joined Goodell in a meeting with F.A. officials this week. 
Goodell is in London for Sunday’s regular-season game between Tampa Bay and Chicago, two teams with black head coaches. Among England’s 92 professional clubs, there are only two black managers — Chris Hughton at second-tier Birmingham and Chris Powell at third-tier Charlton. 
