Goals, goals, goals: Cristiano Ronaldo’s golden numbers

The best, like the best comics, know timing is everything.

And Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest splurge of scoring from Real Madrid has arrived bang on cue.

On Sunday evening, against Athletic Bilbao, Ronaldo got his first goal after just two minutes, heading in Gareth Bale’s cross at the back post. His second was another tidy finish from a Bale pass early in the second half, while the third was finished inadvertently off his elbow from close range late on.

None of the three will likely end up on a highlights reel of his best career moments, but each was celebrated with his usual gusto. Ronaldo is looking happy again, after a difficult six months.

Persistent knee and thigh muscle problems hampered his contribution to Madrid’s Champions League final win last May, and led to a disappointing time at the summer’s World Cup for the Portugal captain. Then there was his unusually frank criticism of Madrid’s summer transfer business, which lead to apparently well-sourced rumours in the English press suggesting a return to Manchester United was being put together behind the scenes.

When the now 29-year-old began the new season still looking troubled by injury issues, some Blancos fans and pundits wondered aloud if they had already seen the best of Ronaldo in a Madrid shirt. But they need not have worried — he already has a phenomenal 13 goals in just six league games this season, including three hat-tricks in his last four domestic outings.

Even still, Ronaldo did not get carried away when he spoke after the final whistle, preferring to share the glory with his fellow members of Madrid’s ‘BBC’ strikeforce — Bale and Karim Benzema.

“I like the idea of the BBC,” he told Canal Plus. “We are used to playing together, we understand each other very well. We are still improving. We have things to improve, the season is still just starting. We played a very good game, scoring five goals and not conceding any. We are very happy.”

Such modesty was commendable, given he had just scored a 26th hat-trick for Madrid (in just over five seasons in Spain). 22 of those coming in La Liga meant he had equalled a previous record held by two all-time legends of the Spanish game — the recently deceased Alfredo Di Stefano and the Primera Division’s all-time top scorer Telmo Zarra.

Ronaldo was perhaps more excited however by his latest goalscoring streak again taking place just as the Ballon D’Or voting season begins. Last autumn was perhaps the finest period of his entire career, with a record nine goals in five games through the Champions League group stages, and superb trebles against Sevilla and Real Sociedad in La Liga. There was also the breathtaking individual showing which carried Portugal past Sweden (and Zlatan Ibrahimovic) in November’s World Cup play-off.

Those performances persuaded judges to give him a second Ballon D’Or prize, and getting one back on Lionel Messi clearly meant a lot to Ronaldo, even if both deny the rivalry in public.

Now, despite Messi having a much better competition in Brazil, and Germany players Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller having World Cup winners’ medals to back their claims, last year’s winner is now again heavy favourite with the bookies to be chosen as the world’s best player for 2014.

Asked at Sunday’s post-match press conference at the Bernabeu, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is sure Ronaldo will win. “This year, I don’t think there’s much doubt about that matter,” Ancelotti said. “I believe you can put on a bet. There is no doubt this year.”

Until quite recently, this year had not gone that well on a personal level for Ronaldo. But a magic few weeks means a third career Ballon D’Or trophy now looks on the cards.