In our last report we mentioned that neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Messi were off the mark in the league, and there were even suggestions that somebody else might win the Pichichi award for once! That idea lasted precisely two weeks though, and this weekend it was back to normal, Ronaldo in particular scoring no less than five and setting up Benzema for another as Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol 0-6! It was the second time that “CR7” has scored five in a match for the Merengues, and it takes him past Di Stéfano and Raúl as the club’s top scorer in the league, with 231 in only 203 matches. The only record he now has to beat is Raúl’s 323 in all competitions, but he is only four short of that.

Messi (who had already scored three in the pre-season supercup games) has had a gruelling week though, combining a long trip to play for Argentina with a couple of days’ paternity leave due to the birth of his second son, and Luis Enrique left him on the bench at the start of the big game at Atlético Madrid. However he came on for the last half hour to score the winner after a Neymar free kick had cancelled out a Fernando Torres opener. Both he and Ronaldo are already closing in on the top of the rankings once again, although the current leader is still Athletic’s Aduríz, who helped himself to a brace in a 3-1 win over Getafe. Elsewhere Nolito (Celta) and Bakambu (Villarreal) notched up their third of the season, and there were second goals for another three players, Rubén Castro (Betis), Orellana (Celta) and Lucas Pérez (Deportivo). It’s been a slow start this year, but at last our boys are starting to find the onion bag! (15.09.15)

Pichichi League Cup Europe Total (Penalties)
Aduríz (Athletic Bilbao) 2 4 0 6 (1)
Ronaldo (Real Madrid) 5 0 0 5 (1)
Messi (Barcelona) 1 1 2 4 (0)
Nolito (Celta) 3 0 0 3 (1)
Bakambu (Villarreal) 3 0 0 3 (0)
Rubén Castro (Betis) 2 0 0 2 (0)
Orellana (Celta) 2 0 0 2 (1)
Lucas Pérez (Deportivo) 2 0 0 2 (0)
Adrián González (Eibar) 2 0 0 2 (0)
Bale (Real Madrid) 2 0 0 2 (0)
Benzema (Real Madrid) 2 0 0 2 (0)
James (Real Madrid) 2 0 0 2 (0)
Soldado (Villarreal) 2 0 0 2 (0)
Luis Suárez (Barcelona) 1 0 1 2 (0)
Negredo (Valencia) 1 0 1 2 (0)
Eraso (Athletic Bilbao) 0 0 2 2 (0)