Ronaldo Remains on Fire
Cristiano Ronaldo has been in scintillating and superlative form so far this season.
As hot as the Spanish sun, he netted three more goals today against Real Sociedad of San Sebastian as Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 victory before the Bernabéu's usual racous crowd.
His hat trick included this gem in the 76th minute:
He's enjoying his best ever start, now with 23 goals in just 16 games, an amazing average of 1.4375 per game, which has been boosted by a strong relationship with Gareth Bale, the Welshman from Tottenham Hotspur. For his part, Bale has managed four assists in three starts, more than any other player at the club.
After a disappointing campaign last season -- Real Madrid lost the league title to rivalBarcelona and was eliminated in the semi-final of the Champions League -- the Portuguese international now looks invincible.
Currently, Ronaldo has already racked up a most impressive list of accomplishments.
- His 17 goals is the most in this calendar year, bettering Lionel Messi by one.
- His 8 Champions League goals to date has matched the record set by Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Fillipo Inzaghi and Hernan Crespo. With a possibility of nine more games to the Champions League final, Ronaldo looks to be a certainty to claim that distinction for himself alone.
His league performance is just as impressive:
- Ronaldo is the first player ever to score against every team in La Liga in a season.
- He is the first player to score 20 away goals in a single season.
- He is the fastest La Liga player to score 50,100,150, and 200 goals for his club.
- He is the second-leading scorer in the league with 11 goals, just one behind the Diego Costa.
Ronaldo stands at fifth on the list of of all-time goal scorers for Real, but he's the only one with more goals than appearances (1.02), and shows no signs of letting up.