Cristiano Ronaldo has become La Liga’s all-time leading penalty scorer after netting from 12 yards for the 57th time in the top-flight during Real Madrid’s match at Villarreal. Ronaldo had been tied on 56 with Madrid legend Hugo Sanchez since scoring from the spot in Madrid’s 2-1 defeat to Sevilla on January 15.
The 32-year-old’s strike against Villarreal was his 16th La Liga goal of the season, which means he now sits in third place in the Pichichi race, two shies of Luis Suarez, who has 18 league strikes to his name, and four behind Lionel Messi, who has netted 20 times so far.
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57 – Cristiano Ronaldo is now the player with most penalties scored in La Liga history, surpassing Hugo Sanchez (56). Punisher. pic.twitter.com/aWjmMezadO
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 26, 2017
It was not only Ronaldo who wrote his name in the record books this weekend – his club had a Spanish all-time record set by their bitter rivals FC Barcelona in 1944.
But now he has the record all to himself having slammed home a penalty on Sunday after a Toni Kroos shot was controversially adjudged to have struck the arm of Bruno.
The Portuguese superstar has scored 23 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions – a tally that would be deemed incredible for many strikers.
However, on average, Ronaldo has scored at least one goal per game for the previous five seasons at the Bernabeu and will be hoping to do the same again this campaign.
But Ronaldo won’t care too much about his goal tally if Madrid wins both La Liga and the Champions League this season. And his side took a giant leap towards domestic glory after coming back from 2-0 down against Villarreal to win 3-2 on Sunday night.
Amongst all the action, Ronaldo broke a La Liga record when his penalty made it 2-2 at the Ceramic Stadium. In truth, the spot-kick was awarded in controversial circumstances after the ball struck Villarreal’s Bruno on the arm after ricocheting off a teammate.
Amazing Records Of Cristiano Ronaldo:
| Competition | Games | Goals | Assist |
| Spanish League BBVA | 14 | 12 | 2 |
| UEFA Champions League | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Copa del Rey | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Super Cup/Club World Cup | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 23 | 18 | 6 |
Ronaldo’s arch-rival, and main competitor when it comes to records, Lionel Messi, is a way behind with 43 successful penalties (at a near-identical success rate of 84%) and is fifth on the all-time list. In fact, he is another three penalties away from breaking Ronaldo’s record.
The top five penalty strikers of all time in La Liga :
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – 57
2. Hugo Sanchez (Real Madrid) – 56
3. Ronald Koeman (Barcelona) – 45
4. Lyuboslav Penev (Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Celta Vigo) – 44
5. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 43
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