In the 53rd minute of the Madrid derby in round 31 of La Liga, the Bernabeu stands had a chance to celebrate when CR7 opened the score. Ronaldo's seemingly simple goal gathered all the elements of a "banno- mapper": Running smartly, choosing the right position and finishing quickly.
With his familiar goal, Ronaldo officially reached the 650-goal mark in his career. That achievement of the 33-year-old star comes from 446 goals for Real Madrid, 118 goals for Manchester United, 5 goals for Sporting Lisbon and 81 goals for the Portuguese Open.
In contrast to his shaky form at the beginning of the season, Ronaldo is returning to himself with a series of 10 consecutive goals. The last time he did this was more than 3 years ago (in November 2014). In the last 10 matches, Ronaldo scored 22 goals (more than 2 goals/match), a superb achievement at the age of 33.
In all competitions this season, Ronaldo has scored 40 goals, 23 of which have come in La Liga. Although he is 6 goals behind Messi, the remaining 7 rounds in La Liga are enough matches for Ronaldo to believe he can catch up with his arch-rival for the "European Golden Shoe" title.
The Portuguese striker's formidable form also signals a nightmare Bernabeu night for Juventus. In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final in the early morning of April 12, Juve will visit in the context of a 0-3 loss in the first leg at home.
