Ronaldo fastest to reach 100-goal
MADRID
Cristiano Ronaldo. (R) AP photo
Cristiano Ronaldo became the fastest player to reach 100 goals in the Spanish league by scoring a brace to help leader Real Madrid rebound from consecutive draws with a 5-1 rout of Real Sociedad on March 24.Gonzalo Higuain scored before both Ronaldo and Karim Benzema hit doubles as Madrid showed no signs of missing the guiding hand of suspended coach Jose Mourinho.
Madrid stayed six points clear at the top of table following 10-man Barcelona’s 2-0 victory at Mallorca where Lionel Messi netted his 55th goal of the season in all competitions.
Madrid great Ferenc Puskas formerly held the record for the fastest player to reach 100 goals after doing so in 105 matches in the 1960s. Ronaldo needed 92 games to score 101.
The 5-1 result will come as a relief to Jose Mourinho’s Real who had dropped four points in two 1-1 draws with Malaga and Villarreal, scorelines which had helped Barcelona eat into a lead that stood at an imposing 10 points a week ago.
Afterwards neither Mourinho, his backroom staff nor any player spoke to the press in response to what the club considers to be unfair treatment by the referee in Wednesday’s draw with Villarreal where they had two players sent off.
Mourinho was also red-carded in that game and was forced to watch Saturday’s game from the stands. “It was a good choice to say nothing after Villarreal which was a strange game. We have said nothing about the referees and we hope that in the nine games left there are no mistakes,” said club legend Emilio Butragueno, now a club director.
Second-spot Barcelona, meanwhile, has now seven successive victories in the league.
“We’ve achieved an important victory that allows us to prepare well for the Champions League game against Milan next week,” said Barça coach Pep Guardiola.
Compiled from AP and AFP reports by the Daily News staff
