Who would have thought that, when the Pichichi award adjudicator Marca decided to over-rule the referee's decision and award a goal to Cristiano Ronaldo rather than Pepe, it would have such important implications. However that goal is vital now after the Real Madrid forward scored two more at the weekend at Villarreal to take him over the 50 goal mark for the season. More importantly though the debate rages, was it his 38th or his 39th in the league? The all time record is 38, set jointly by Athletic Bilbao's mythical striker Zarra, and more recently by Real Madrid's own Hugo Sánchez, and Ronaldo has either equalled the record or beaten it depending upon which paper you read (we have stuck with the referee's decision, which is in the official records). Ronaldo now seriously outdistances Messi, albeit that the Barça forward has one more than him (or the same?) in all competitions, but to lay things to rest Don Cristiano needs to score at least once in the last match against the already relegated Almería.

Enough of that though, and on to other things. Sevilla striker Negredo scored again against Real Sociedad to take him level with his Spanish international colleague Soldado on 24 goals, but before that Kanouté headed two in what may well be his last game for Sevilla in the Sánchez Pizjuán stadium. Trézéguet will also presumably be moving on now that Hércules have been relegated, and he got his twelfth of the season in a 2-1 defeat at Atlético Madrid. And elsewhere Piatti, Pedro Ríos, Webó and Cani all scored to join the group on ten goals. Only one more round of games to go though (two for Barça with the Champions League final), and the question is, "who will take Soccer-Spain's all-competition award this year, Ronaldo or Messi?" Whoever wins, both have set new standards even for the highly prestigious Spanish football scene. Long may it last! (17.05.11)