Cristiano Ronaldo breaks Raul’s record in double quick time as Real Madrid rout Espanyol

Cristiano Ronaldo answered his critics over a poor patch of form with five goals. Alejandro Garcia / EPA

BARCELONA // Cristiano Ronaldo scored five in Real Madrid’s 6-0 win at Espanyol to surpass Raul as his club’s all time leading league goalscorer.

The Spanish striker took 550 games to reach his 228 tally; Ronaldo has taken only 203 to score 230 and needed just 19 minutes to net a hat-trick, his 32nd for Madrid. The Portuguese striker then set up fellow forward Karim Benzema to put Rafa Benitez’s side 4-0 up after just 28 minutes.

Given Espanyol had only scored five times in their previous 15 games against Madrid, the chances of them doing the same in 60 minutes were implausible.

Espanyol had started in an optimistic mood on a sunny afternoon in Barcelona. Their all-time leading goal-scorer Raul Tamudo received sustained applause from the crowd before the match and a standing ovation from both teams.

Tamudo, 37, announced his retirement from football earlier in the week and stated it was his intention to take his son to watch Espanyol every week. His five-year-old son hid his face in his father's shoulders when he was on the pitch, and his father could have been forgiven for covering his own eyes as Madrid ripped his beloved side apart.

Ronaldo’s first came after six minutes, when he struck a defence-slitting pass from Luca Modric past goalkeeper Pau Lopez. Lopez is Espanyol’s No 1 keeper after Kiko Casilla moved to Real Madrid in the close season, and the former Espanyol man sat on Madrid’s bench as Keylor Navas started.

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Lopez picked the ball out of his net for the second time after 15 minutes after Ronaldo struck a low penalty to his left. It was awarded when Gareth Bale was tripped by Alvaro after receiving the ball from Benzema out wide.

Madrid were 3-0 up inside 20 minutes, with Bale and Ronaldo again involved. The Welshman crossed for Ronaldo to volley past Lopez.

It was the second time this year that Ronaldo has scored a hat-trick at Espanyol. It was also his fourth hat-trick in his past seven Primera Liga matches.

Four in front with two-thirds of the game to play, Madrid were unrelenting, though Espanyol managed to keep them out until the 61st minute, when Ronaldo made it 5-0 after combining with Bale. The Welshman ran down the right wing and crossed for his No 7 to tap the ball in to cheers from the 2,000 travelling supporters.

Felipe Caicedo, the former Al Jazira striker, came closest for the home team with a 71st-minute flying header from six yards out which was superbly saved by Navas.

Ronaldo made it 6-0 after 80 minutes, set up following some excellent work by substitute Lucas Vazquez, who was on loan at Espanyol last season. Ronaldo had not scored in his previous nine games, but he did score five against Granada in a 9-1 win in March.

“I like to talk about the team when they achieve a result of this magnitude,” Madrid manager Benitez said, “but you can’t do anything else but highlight the six goals and the five Ronaldo scored.”

And Benitez was still not fully content. “There are always things to improve on and that’s what we have to do,” he said.

His captain Sergio Ramos was more effusive, posting a picture with his teammates at the airport after the game.

“Complete performance: a clean sheet and 3 points. Well done to the Beast @cristiano for his 5 goals,” said Ramos.

Indeed.

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