Cristiano Ronaldo, fired up by his rival Lionel Messi’s midweek hat-trick for Barcelona, struck four goals in the second-half of the game as Real Madrid crushed Celta Vigo 7-1 at the Bernabéu, he became the third player in Spain to break 250 league goals only Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra – who scored 251 goals in the forties and fifties – and Leo Messi – who currently has 304 to his name.
Pepe opened the scoring five minutes before half-time with a bullet header from a corner. Real took flight in the second half when Ronaldo got off the mark with a trademark shot from outside the box that dipped over Sergio Blanco who was well off his line. The Portugal forward made it three with a superb free-kick eight minutes later, whipping in a hard shot that dipped over the wall and beat Blanco for sheer speed.
His fourth goal was a header from a cross by Jesé, who scored the team’s sixth a minute later after a dribble through the defence and a shot that went in at the base of the post. Bale put the icing on the cake with a thunderbolt from outside the penalty area on the left that went in off the far post.
The Real Madrid coach, Zinedine Zidane, said after the match “Cristiano is unique with his shot, only he has it. I could hit the ball well but from closer in. I don’t know the feeling, few players have it.”