Ronaldo laid down the gauntlet to his competitors this weekend with two more goals in Real Madrid's win over Athletic Bilbao. He opens up a three goal gap over the rest in all competitions, although he is still only one ahead of Fernando Torres in the race for the league Pichichi. Torres, whose two goals against Betis made it seven in four games, was hailed as the new Van Basten after a brilliant first strike, but if he keeps on like that then Van Basten will soon be labelled the old Fernando Torres.

Top scorer over the weekend though was Valencia's Oliveira, who made it difficult for Rafa Benítez with a hat-trick against struggling Mallorca. With Mista scoring freely as well, the manager will have to decide who will be his first choice striker. Meanwhile Valencia discard Salva got back into the chart with a winning penalty for Málaga against Sevilla, and Makukula made his first appearance in the rankings after scoring for the third game in a row. (03.11.03)