After scoring one of Real Madrid's five goals against Real Betis on Sunday, Real's number seven has now scored in 264 games for 'Los Blancos', equalling a record set by legend Raul Gonzalez. With this goal the Portuguese forward took his tally for the season to 26, only one fewer than Lionel Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo has hit top-gear as the final stretch of the season has begun. He has been quicker, more skillful and, most of all, deadlier in front of goal than he was at the beginning. At the Villamarin stadium on Sunday, during a thrilling game for a neutral against Real Betis, the Portuguese forward added another goal to his tally, finding the back of the net in the 65th minute.
And it wasn't just any old goal; in scoring, Ronaldo equalled a record set by Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez. Both players, two of Real's greatest ever No.7s, have now scored in 264 games for 'Los Blancos'. It goes without saying, however, that Cristiano will go on to break this record by a fair margin.
The 33-year-old is in a good place at the moment. Where he was previously struggling in front of goal, he is now scoring with his knee, and he seems to have gone from 0 to 100 with ease. This is a very encouraging sign for Madrid, who were grateful for their star's help in overturning the deficit against Paris Saint-Germain, which took them one step closer to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Raul caught...Messi in the crosshairs
Such has been his resurgence that, thanks to Messi's inability to score so far in February, Ronaldo is now just one goal off the Argentine's tally this season. This is a feat that would have seemed inconceivable at the beginning of the campaign, when Messi was finding the oppostion net at a rate that his rival couldn't get near. A few months later, the Madrid man now has a better goalscoring average than his rival.
So far this season, Barcelona's No. 10 has racked up 27 goals, although he has had his fair share of bad luck, hitting the woodwork 17 times. The last of these near-misses came in his side's 0-2 victory against Eibar, a game where he turned provider, assisting Luis Suarez for the first goal.
It seems that, in 2018, we have seen a return to goalscoring form for Ronaldo. In two months he has managed ten goals, with games remaining against Leganes, Alaves and Espanyol for the Madrid forward to cap off a great month. His ambition is as strong as ever, and if the goals keep coming, Real could achieve their dream of securing a thirteenth European trophy.